The Punjab Congress crisis seems to be spiraling out of control as several reports suggest that Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has offered to resign from the Congress party after reportedly being asked to step down from the post by the party high command.
He is scheduled to address a press conference at 4.30 PM outside the Raj Bhavan, on Saturday, ahead of key Congress party meeting in Chandigarh with senior officials like Ajay Maken and Harish Rawat who were rushed in amid reports of guard change.
Before the press conference, the CM's son Raninder Singh took to Twitter to write, "I am proud to accompany my father to Raj Bhawan when he submits his resignation as CM of Punjab and leads us as head of our family into a new beginning et all."
The reports of resignation come amid rising pressure from the rebel party leaders who have been demanding Singh's removal for a while ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Friday, 17 September, received representation from a large number of Punjab MLAs to convene a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP).
Punjab Congress in-charge Harish Rawat on Friday took to Twitter to announce that the meet will take place on Saturday, 19 September, at 5:00 pm.
"AICC directs the PPCC to facilitate this meeting. All congress MLAs of Punjab are requested to kindly attend this meeting," he said. The tweet was retweeted by Punjab Congress Chief Najyot Singh Sidhu.
While several MLAs started flocking the party office ahead of the meet, Singh is holding another meeting with party MLAs loyal to him at his official residence in Chandigarh. Several reports have suggested that Singh might skip the CLP meet.
'Not a Turmoil, Everything is Fine'
Apart from Rawat, the CLP meet will also be attended by Congress observers for Punjab Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary.
Ahead of leaving for Punjab from Delhi, Maken told ANI: "I'm going to Punjab for the state Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting. I don't know who all will participate but it is a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party. There is no turmoil, everything is fine."
Sunil Jakhar Hails Rahul for 'Resolving' Issue
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar took to Twitter to hail party leader Rahul Gandhi for solving the "Gordian knot".
"Kudos to Shri Rahul Gandhi for adopting Alexandrian solution to this Punjabi version of Gordian knot. Surprisingly, this bold leadership decision to resolve Punjab Congress imbroglio has not only enthralled Congress workers, but has sent shudders down the spines of Akalis," he tweeted.
Along with Jakhar, Sidhu and party leader Ambika Soni are said to be the front runners for the CM post in case of Singh's ouster.
The Rebellion in Punjab Congress
On 25 August, several Punjab Congress MLAs, ministers and leaders had met Rawat over renewed calls of Singh's removal. While the party had reiterated its earlier stance of contesting the upcoming Assembly elections under Singh's leadership, Rawat had said that the party will listen to the ones raising issues and try to resolve them.
The calls for removal came last month from as many as 34 legislators of the Congress, including four Cabinet ministers.
The rebel MLAs had reportedly registered their loss of confidence in Singh to lead the party to victory in the 2022 elections.
The Congress high command had attempted to iron out differences between the factions of Singh and Sidhu, following which the latter was appointed as the chief of the party's state unit.
Singh, in a show of support of the high command's decision of Sidhu's elevation, also attended the event organised by Sidhu as he took charge. While many considered the crisis to be resolved post Singh's attendance at the event, the rebellion seems to only have intensified.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and NDTV)
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