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Warring Cong camps unite for Pilot show
The event saw party’s state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Jalandhar MP and ex-chief minister Charanjti Singh Channi sharing stage after months
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The feuding factions of the Punjab Congress put up a united show during the first state outing of newly appointed party affairs in-charge Sachin Pilot on Tuesday, as the party turned up the heat on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over the alleged suicide of a Dalit man in Sangrur after his public confrontation with finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema.
The opposition party, led by Pilot, took to the streets demanding Cheema’s resignation and an independent probe into the matter. The event saw party’s state chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Jalandhar MP and ex-chief minister Charanjti Singh Channi sharing stage after months. The leaders aligned to the two camps had been till now holding parallel party events in the state.
Flanking Pilot on either side, Channi and Warring were seen conversing with each other. “We will fight together,” said Channi while addressing party workers. Warring also called Channi and other leaders his ‘pagg da lar’ (the fold of his turban).
The state unit has been grappling with infighting since July 1, when central leaders chose to retain Warring as head of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. The Channi group has repeatedly demanded a leadership overhaul, boycotting state committee events for nearly three months and running parallel programs across the state. The tensions had already spilled into the open during the party’s grassroots mobilsation drive in August, where rival cadres exchanged slogans against each other.
Before being replaced by Pilot, outgoing Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel had also faced a cold shoulder from dissenters after he rallied behind Warring and said that the party would not declare any chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming polls.
Channi also referred to the appointment of Pilot as “a new hope”. “Pilot ji, wherever you see, there are only Congress workers here. For this, I congratulate you. We will fight together, we will die for the people of Punjab, we will move forward for the people of Punjab, we will get justice for Punjab. We will send Kejriwal and company out of Punjab,” he said as he targeted the AAP government and chief minister Bhagwant Mann over various issues.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that when they visit villages, people would tell them they want the Congress to win, but only when its leaders come together. “See, all are together today,” he said, while pointing towards all state leaders sharing the stage during the protest.
Hailing Pilot’s recent statement that the Punjab assembly elections will be fought “without” any chief ministerial face, Bajwa said, “It will be fought under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mallikarjun Kharge.”
Pilot, Warring, other Cong leaders detained, released
Heavy police deployment was made and barricades were erected to prevent Congress leaders and workers from heading towards Cheema’s residence in Chandigarh.
Later, several Congress leaders, including Pilot, Warring and Bajwa, and workers were detained by police and later released. Addressing protesters outside the Punjab Congress headquarters here ahead of the march, Pilot lashed out at the AAP government over the alleged suicide incident. He said the Dalit villager had raised the issue of the drug menace, but he was “subjected to so much pressure that he had to take his own life.”
The Congress leader said the suicide was reflective of what was happening in Punjab, much against the claims made by the AAP.
The situation is such that a poor Dalit had to pay with his life just because he raised a question about the free availability of drugs, to which his son had fallen victim, Pilot said.
“We have no personal enmity with Cheema sahib. But you are sitting in office; you are the finance minister. A man is taking his life and making a video saying that ‘I am taking my own life because of this person’. Does the law not say that there should be an investigation, there should be an FIR?” he asked.
The Dalit man who hailed from a village in Dirba died on September 7 after allegedly consuming poison, with his family alleging that he was “harassed and subjected to casteist slurs” for questioning Cheema about the drugs in his area during an event the day before.
Pilot claimed that the AAP has not fulfilled any of its poll promises. “Today, there is a home delivery of ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs). You make a phone call and it is reaching every home,” Pilot alleged.
Later, Pilot told reporters that the Congress is fighting for the people of Punjab, and its leaders and workers are committed to a better future for the state. The entire Congress will fight unitedly, he said in response to a question. Warring and other leaders lashed out at the AAP government, saying it has “proved to be the worst ever in the state.”
Assuring Pilot of their complete support, Congress leaders said their first and foremost aim was to ensure the party wins the 2027 assembly elections and the leadership issue would be decided later by the high command. Brahm Mohindra, Vijay Inder Singla, Rana KP Singh, Dr Amar Singh, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Rana Gurjit Singh, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Sukhvinder Danny, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Kuljit Singh Nagra and other leaders took part in the charge.
Pilot in Punjab to ‘save sinking ship’: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Congress’ Punjab affairs in-charge Sachin Pilot over his visit to the state, claiming he was sent to save the party’s “sinking ship.” Addressing a press conference, AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu said it was surprising that Congress leaders who used to call themselves “sailors” and dream of becoming chief minister had completely sunk the Congress ship. He said that a ‘Pilot’ had now been sent to save the sinking ship.
“Sachin Pilot is welcome to Punjab, but before appealing to the people of Punjab for votes, he will have to answer for the atrocities of the Congress against Punjabis,” he added.
Pannu also questioned the Congress leadership’s political standing in Punjab and demanded answers on the 1984 Sikh massacre. “Why has the Congress always wronged minorities and why has it continued to keep those accused in the openly perpetrated 1984 Sikh massacre close even till today,” he asked.
He claimed that the Congress had always provided protection and patronage to leaders like Sajjan Kumar and Kamal Nath. The AAP leader said that before campaigning in Punjab, Pilot must make it clear which Congress leaders were involved in the 1984 massacre, why they had been protected to date.
