According to sources, the three-member All India Congress Committee (AICC) panel set up for the purpose of ending factionalism within Punjab Congress submitted a report to party head Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, 10 June, PTI reported.
Chaired by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and comprising of AICC general secretary (Punjab) Harish Rawat as well as former MP JP Aggarwal, the panel suggested accommodation of all sections, castes and regions in the upgraded party body.
No changes have been recommended in the high command of the party, however, the panel said that Navjot Singh Sidhu will be "suitably accommodated" in the revamp, PTI reported.
As per sources, his name is being considered for the deputy chief minister of the state or chairman of poll campaign committee, ANI reported. The decision rests with Sonia Gandhi.
As the state assembly elections approach next year, the panel had held discussions with a number of leaders from the state.
Tensions have intensified in the Congress' Punjab unit as former state minister Sidhu on 18 May, censured Chief Minister 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.
Recently, Sidhu had met the three-member panel and said that he has conveyed the voice of people at the grassroots level to the high command.
After a reportedly two-hour-long meeting, Sidhu was quoted as saying, “I came on the invitation of the high command. Whatever they asked me about the people of Punjab, I apprised them. I have come to make sure that the voice of the people of Punjab reaches the high command. I have come to convey their message,” according to The Indian Express.
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