Ahead of the government formation in Punjab, State Congress president Capt. Amarinder Singh on Tuesday batted for the elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the post of party president.
Government formation
Capt. Singh and the AICC vice-president met in New Delhi and discussed plans for government formation ahead of the swearing-in-ceremony on March 16. Capt. Amarinder, however, said it was a courtesy visit.
Sources said deliberations were held on the names of Manpreet Badal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Razia Sultana, Rana Gurjit Singh, Charanjit Singh Channi, Brahm Mohindra, Trupt Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Aruna Chaudhary for possible inclusion in the ministry.
Rana K.P. Singh could likely be the next Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, although there was no official confirmation.
“It was a courtesy call. There was no discussion on Cabinet formation during the meeting,” Capt. Singh told reporters, adding that the time was now ripe to elevate Mr. Gandhi as the party president.
Capt. Singh lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for refusing to accept defeat gracefully, saying that instead of acknowledging that his party had failed to connect with the voters of Punjab, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was taking refuge in making allegations about EVMs, which, incidentally, his own party workers had been guarding.
Capt. Singh said in the light of the State’s fiscal situation he did not want any unnecessary or wasteful expenditure to be incurred on the oath taking ceremony. The party had decided to go in for a simple and low-key swearing-in ceremony.
Low-key ceremony
“I have requested all the newly elected MLAs to also keep their personal invitations to the bare minimum to keep the ceremony simple,” he said.
