Disgruntled Congress leaders meet party’s Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat

AAP says ongoing infighting within Congress is harming State’s interests.

Congress leader Harish Singh Rawat. File

A day after raising the banner of revolt against Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, four Ministers and some Congress MLAs on Wednesday met All India Congress Committee in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat at Dehradun to apprise him of their concerns and disappointment against Capt. Singh.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, said the ongoing infighting within the Congress was harming the interests of the State.

Charanjit Channi, one of the Ministers who met Mr. Rawat told

The Hindu that all concerns were shared with the party in charge and he promised them to take up the issues with the central leadership. “All the issues that were raised and discussed by us yesterday [at a meeting in Chandigarh] were conveyed to Mr. Rawat. He assured us of taking up our concerns with the high command and get back to us,” said Mr. Channi.

Lack of faith in Amarinder

The four Ministers, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Mr. Channi, apart from close to 20 MLAs, on August 24, expressed lack of faith in the leadership of the Chief Minister in fulfilling the party’s 2017 election promises. However, within hours, seven of the 20 MLAs, and ex-MLAs purported to have been party to the demand for removal of Capt. Singh, categorically disassociated themselves from any such move.

Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema termed the ongoing rift in the ruling Congress unfortunate for the State and its people. He said the allegations levelled by the faction of the Congress MLAs and Ministers, who were advocating for ‘Punjab’ against their own government, were absolutely correct.

“We have been raising all the issues – be it transport mafia, liquor mafia, mining mafia or other public centric issues and now the Congress members are also raising them, thus vindicating the AAP. For the last four-and-a-half years, these rebel Congressmen have also been part of the ‘mafia rule’. These Ministers were appointed by the Cabinet and are equally responsible for every good or bad decision. When the MLAs and Ministers have been silently or mainly advocating, they cannot blame the failures of the government on any one person or faction,” he stated.

The AAP leader questioned Congress State chief Navjot Singh Sidhu that when the AAP was seeking answers from the Amarinder government on ‘mafias’ and all-important issues related to Punjab inside or outside the Assembly, then why all these Congressmen shielded the Chief Minister.