Cong to announce CM face in Punjab after consulting party workers: Rahul
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Jan, 2022 01:24 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 27 (IANS) Indicating that the Congress will go into the Punjab polls with a CM face in place, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday categorically said that it will announce a chief ministerial candidate after consulting the party workers.
Both Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have urged Rahul Gandhi to announce a CM face well ahead of the polls, instead of going with the collective leadership.
"Both (Channi and Sidhu) have assured me that they will help whoever is named as the CM face," said Rahul Gandhi, who kickstarted Congress' election campaign in Punjab on Thursday after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
At the same time, he said that there should be a dedicated manifesto for the women of Punjab.
Flanked by Chief Minister Channi and Sidhu, Rahul also paid obeisance at the Durgiana Mandir and Bhagwan Valmiki temple in Amritsar.
After partaking 'Langar' with Sidhu and Channi at the Golden Temple, Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with the party candidates with the message 'Navi Soch, Nava Punjab'.
Later, the Congress leader started the campaign by addressing a virtual rally from Jalandhar.
The Congress has so far fielded 109 candidates for the 117-member Punjab Assembly that will go to the polls on February 20. The names of the remaining candidates are yet to be announced.
The counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
Adityanath visited the families of those who lost their members and assured them of help. The Chief Minister also visited the 100-bed district hospital at Firozabad where children showing symptoms of the disease are being treated.
The Punjab Chief Minister reminded Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala that the farmers who were protesting against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting in Karnal when the police baton charged them belonged to Haryana and not Punjab.
A video had gone viral of the SDM shouting out instructions to policemen to use force to stop the protesting farmers. Khattar had told a press conference that the officer's "choice of words was not correct" but said, "if any action has to be taken (against the officer), it would first have to be assessed by the district administration."
Speaking at a party function in Amritsar city, Sidhu said "if he is allowed to work according to his own policy of hope and faith, he will ensure Congress rule in the state for 20 years".
Of them, 2,35,768 challans were issued to those not wearing a mask, 28,539 to those found violating social distancing norms, 1,415 for consumption of liquor, pan, gutka, etc, 1463 for holding large public gatherings or congregations and 1,460 for spitting, the data showed.
The meeting comes in wake of some "rebel" MLAs seeking time from Sonia Gandhi to press for removal of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, even as state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is not letting up on attacks against the Chief Minister.
