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.
The police had been conducting raids to arrest Ankit Das who is the nephew of former MP, late Akhilesh Das. A notice had been pasted at his residence residential address in Lucknow.
Channi also accompanied the martyr's nephew and his father to lit the pyre of the braveheart who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty in a gunfight with the terrorists in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir on October 11.
Cyber Police Station Kashmir has busted a KYC fraud gang after it received multiple complaints regarding KYC frauds. The victims were receiving unsolicited calls and SMS, urging them to call on some provided numbers for updating their KYC, a statement by Cyber Police Kashmir said on Wednesday.
Manish Tewari said in a tweet ,"MHA Notification enhancing operational mandate of BSF, 15 to 50 KM's in Punjab, West Bengal & Assam transgresses upon Constitutional Public order & Policing remit of States Half of Punjab will now fall under BSF jurisdiction @CHARANJITCHANNI must oppose it ".
In a statement, Randhawa, who also holds the Home portfolio, said "this illogical decision was absolutely against the spirit of the raising the border guarding forces, which were required to focus on the international border and act as the first line of defence".
The world's largest vaccination drive against Covid-19 is being conducted in India, "and it will be a special occasion to celebrate when we complete administering 100 crore doses of vaccines", said the source.
