Congress keeps eye on Punjab leaders close to Amarinder Singh
Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Nov, 2021 10:32 AM
New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) The Congress is closely watching former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's moves and the leaders who have close ties with him. The state unit has been tasked to placate such leaders or arrange a meeting with the high command.
The state unit is reaching out to leaders at the district level while heavyweight leaders are being approached by the AICC. Punjab Congress In-charge Harish Chaudhary has been asked to manage the disgruntled groups in the party and also coordinate with state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had last week met four MLAs who were dropped from the cabinet and are considered close to Amarinder Singh. They are Balbir Singh Sidhu, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Sunder Sham Arora and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and were reportedly given assurances on their interests in the party.
Rahul Gandhi also took feedback from Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and discussed strategy to keep the flock together.
Three Punjab MPs considered close to Amarinder Singh have kept the Congress on its toes - Manish Tewari, Mohd Sadique and Praneet Kaur, wife of the Chief Minister. Tewari did not reply to queries when reached out for comments on the issue though he has been of late critical of the party leaders.
Manish Tewari, last week had said, "I have never seen such chaos & anarchy as what is playing out in Punjab Congress today. Repeated open defiance of AICC by a PCC President, colleagues squabbling publicly with each other like children."
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had been saying that many people from the party were in touch with him and they will come out in the open when the time comes. "We are waiting for the opportune moment. But I will not take their names. Already my supporters are being harassed," said Amarinder Singh.
The Congress has been upset since the ex-Chief Minister announced that he will contest all 117 seats and probably forge an alliance with the BJP. The move can upset Congress equations in the state.
Two days after announcing to launch his own political outfit to serve the interests of the people, two-time Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday slammed AICC general secretary Harish Rawat, saying the party has damaged its own interests by not trusting him and giving the party into the hands of an 'unstable person' like Navjot Sidhu.
The data comes on a day when India reached the milestone of 100 crore vaccinations, and demonstrates that lack of vaccine hesitancy has played a big role in achieving this number.
Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, representing Singh, submitted his client has been in jail for the past two years, and added that his custody is not required, as two charge sheets have already been filed.
Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for delay in recording statements of witnesses before a judicial magistrate in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, where eight persons were killed, and also told the state government to dispel the impression that it is dragging its feet in the matter.
In a statement, the minister termed the decision by the CBSE to include all regional languages in the minor subjects as a conspiracy to wean students away from their mother tongue.
Delhi government has always tried to release the compensation soon after the announcement and has done so in the past too, he said, adding that the compensation amount given by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)- led government is the highest in the country.
