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Sidhu meets Sonia ahead of state Congress revamp
AICC chief yet to take final decision, will share it soon after it is done, says party Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat
Amid growing tension in the Punjab Congress, former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is trying to resolve factionalism in the state unit ahead of the assembly elections due early next year.
Sidhu’s meeting with Sonia at her residence, where former party president Rahul Gandhi was also present, came as the central leadership is on the verge of finalising the revamp of the state unit. The former minister’s early morning departure for Delhi heightened the expectations of his supporters who seemed confident of an announcement of his elevation to the state chief’s post in the afternoon and even put up hoardings in Amritsar, thanking the party leadership, but they will have to wait.
There has been no word from the Congress or Sidhu on what transpired at the meeting or when the announcement of the new state body would be made. “I had come to submit my report on Punjab to the Congress chief. As soon as any decision is taken by the party president, I will share the details,” All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat, who also attended the meeting, told journalists after the hour-long meeting.
He refused to give any direct answer to a query about Sidhu’s likely appointment as the state Congress president.
Clamour for Hindu state chief
As party circles remained abuzz with speculation about the appointment of Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, as the new head of the state unit and its probable timing, a section of the party leaders pushed for a Hindu face.
Senior party leader and Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari was the first to put out a tweet on Friday on the issue. He gave the demographic details of the state, mentioning that Sikhs form 57.75% of the population, while Hindus and Dalits (Sikh and Hindus) constitute 38.49% and 31.94%, respectively.
“Punjab is both progressive and secular, but balancing social interest groups is the key. Equality is the foundation of social justice!” he tweeted, tagging the Congress, Harish Rawat, the All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs. His party colleagues, Anish Sidana and Pawan Dewan, were more direct about the neglect of leaders from the community.
Sidana, a former member of the Kandi Area Development Board, said there was a feeling that they were not needed, asking the party leadership why they are giving the post of CM and PPCC chiefs to Jat Sikhs and fielding them from urban seats. “What Manish Tewari put demography of Punjab wider picture Jat Sikh 22% 78% others including Hindus, Arora khatri Sikh, Dalit, OBC,” he tweeted.
Similarly, Dewan, chairman of the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board, also asked the Congress leadership about the representation of the Hindu community on key posts in the state unit. “Punjab Congress president – Jat Sikh (if Sidhu gets the post). CM-Jat Sikh. Punjab Youth Congress president-Jat Sikh. Campaign Committee chairman- Jat Sikh (Name of a Jat Sikh is being considered) Hindu kaha hai (where is representation from Hindu community),” he tweeted.
If the party chooses to name Sidhu as the new state chief as is being speculated, there will be Jat Sikhs on both top posts. Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh is also a Jat Sikh. On July 1, the chief minister had held a meeting with leaders from urban areas, mostly Hindus, who demanded that the post of PPCC chief should go to a Hindu and better representation be given in the state unit and the assembly elections.
