Meetings, statements add fuel to Punjab Congress row amid Captain-Sidhu tussle

Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa is scheduled to meet all party MPs from Punjab at his residence in Delhi during the day.

Infighting in the Punjab Congress continued to make news on Sunday with some MLAs vouching for chief minister Amarinder Singh’s appeal among the masses, while his rival and senior functionary Navjot Singh Sidhu held a meeting with a few of the legislators to push his case.

File image of Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu.(ANI)

Besides, party MP Pratap Singh Bajwa, another strong critic of the chief minister, is scheduled to meet all parliamentarians of the Congress at his residence in Delhi during the day, according to news agency ANI. Assembly election is slated to be held in Punjab next year.

Meanwhile, state party chief Sunil Jakhar called a meeting of MLAs and disctrict Congress heads on Monday to bring an end to the ongoing crisis and “pass a resolution expressing faith in the Congress high command and that its decision will be acceptable to all".

The 10 MLAs, who issued a joint statement urging the central leadership not to let down the chief minister, included Harminder Gill, Fatehjang Bajwa, Khaira, Kuldip Vaid, Laddi and Pirmal Khalsa. They said Singh, a retired Captain of the Indian Army, is still the tallest leader of the masses in Punjab, ANI reported.

Around the same time, Sidhu, a cricketer-turned-politician, reached the residence of MLA Madan Lal with six party legislators, including state minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, in Patiala. Sidhu, who is said to be in contention for the state Congress chief’s post, has been holding several rounds of talks with party leaders over the past few days. He met about 30 sitting MLAs and ministers on Saturday.

The chief minister has reportedly written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, expressing his reservation over Sidhu’s appointment as the state unit president and is believed to have warned against the move having an "adverse" impact on the party's prospects in the upcoming assembly elections. The possible elevation of Sidhu would amount to ignoring the old guard, Singh said.

Meanwhile, Bajwa said he had invited the Punjab Congress MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at his Delhi residence to devise a strategy on the farmers' issue and discuss some important matters related to the party.

Senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge, former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat and ex-parliamentarian JP Aggarwal have been tasked by Gandhi to resolve the months-long crisis in the state ahead of the crucial election. The committee has been holding talks with the warring groups, but no solution seemed to be in sight as the moment.