New Delhi: Amid escalated infighting in the Punjab Congress, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has arrived in Delhi and is scheduled to meet the party panel. The panel is headed by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Harish Rawat and JP Aggarwal are its members.
The meeting gains significance after disgruntled leader Navjot Singh Sidhu once again opened front against the Chief Minister. Sidhu has reportedly said that he is not a 'show piece' to be used in elections. The Congress panel has been authorised to resolve the issue without alienating any of the factions in the state.
The Congress panel constituted to resolve factionalism in the Punjab unit submitted its report to party interim President Sonia Gandhi on June 10. Sources said the panel has not recommended the removal of the Chief Minister and Captain Amarinder Singh is likely to lead the party in the next elections. Instead, a slew of reforms have been suggested in the party state unit.
While the fate of Navjot Singh Sidhu is still not clear, sources said the panel wants his rehabilitation in the Punjab Cabinet. Amarinder is averse to Sidhu being elevated to the post of Deputy CM, but is ready to accommodate him in the Cabinet, sources said. The panel had met all the stakeholders in the party, including Amarinder and Sidhu.
Meanwhile, Congress old guard and GenNext in Punjab appear to have joined hands to oppose any attempt by the leadership to grant Sidhu a pre-eminent organisational post ahead of others, with many wondering if it may influence the nature of rejig that the party is contemplating to bring coherence in the volatile state unit.
Rajya Sabha MP and old timer Partap Singh Bajwa’s accommodating words at a press conference for his arch foe, chief minister Amarinder Singh, and his view that Sidhu should need to sweat some more to achieve his “colonel to general” ambition appears to reflect more than a personal opinion. Many view that he was also articulating the stance of younger Congressmen who are opposed to Sidhu getting a big lift because of his rebellion, mirroring the view of CM Singh against whom the mercurial leader unsheathed his sword.
The bone of contention is the presidency of the state unit that Sidhu is eyeing. A senior leader claimed that Sidhu can be deputy chief minister or can be given the other sought after post of the chairman of the campaign committee, but nobody is backing him for the top organisational post.
