‘Introspection’ for Elections: Amarinder Singh Meets Party Panel

The panel is likely to submit a report to Sonia Gandhi by this weekend.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

(Photo: Facebook/@Capt.Amarinder)

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday, 4 June, met the three-member committee set up by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to resolve infighting in Congress’s Punjab unit and assess preparedness for the upcoming Assembly polls.

Singh told the media, that these are “inner-party” discussions, which he won’t reveal and added that the panel meet was a routine “introspection” for the elections that are six months away.

The panel has already met several MPs, MLAs, and Congress leader Navjot Sidhu. A report is likely to be submitted to Sonia Gandhi by this weekend.

Changes in the Punjab Cabinet and the party are likely. As part of reconciliation efforts, Sidhu may be included in Punjab’s Cabinet once again and elevated as deputy chief minister, news agency PTI reported.

The Congress high command began the task of making peace on Monday, with the three-member committee comprising Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s General Secretary Incharge for Punjab Harish Rawat and former MP Jai Prakash Aggarwal.

The state Congress Chief Sunil Jakhar may also be replaced by Sidhu who has been eyeing the state chief post for long, PTI reported.

Why Have Tensions Intensified?

Tensions have intensified in the Congress' Punjab unit over the past few weeks, as former state minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on 18 May censured Captain Amarinder Singh, alleging that his colleagues were being threatened for raising questions on the state government’s handling of the ‘sacrilege’ case and for speaking the truth on the matter.

The recent outburst of animosity also came as the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed an SIT report into the Kotkapura firing incident of 2015, following which Sidhu accused the CM of evading responsibility in the case and demanded action against the perpetrators.

(With inputs from PTI)