The rift within the Punjab Congress over distribution of poll tickets is out in the open as certain senior leaders have objected to tickets for political turncoats ahead of the 2017 assembly elections.
Many senior state leaders are unhappy over the manner in which Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh has handled the issue of ticket distribution without taking them into confidence, a senior Congress leader from the poll-bound state told IANS.
"If these people are so popular, why were they denied tickets by their own parties? You are taking Shiromani Akali Dal rejects in your party. Why do you need these rejects from other parties into the Congress?" the leader asked.
He said the senior Congress leaders are up in arms against the Punjab Congress chief.
"Senior state leaders are not happy because Amarinder Singh is trying to bring in a lot of people from other parties. Nobody wants people from other parties to overwhelm the party and take over," said the Congress leader.
"This is primarily the difference senior Congress leaders have with Amarinder Singh. He is not taking his senior party colleagues into confidence. He wants to build his own team -- those who are loyal to him and not the party," he added.
"When we take in (political) rejects, it shows the internal difference within our own party. That means we are conceding that we are not strong enough on our own to take on other parties," the disgruntled Congress leader added.
He said the contentious issue was raised with the party high command and it agreed to their view point.
"These concerns have been raised with the Congress high command, which too agreed that we'll not allow 'Akalikaran' of the Congress," said the leader.
On the other hand, Amarinder Singh -- a former Chief Minister -- had on Sunday denied differences with the high command over candidates, adding that the list will be out next week.
Amarinder Singh had earlier said the first list of candidates will be out on December 4 and the second by December 8. Last week, he said the list will be finalised by December 8 and announced on December 9 or 10.
PUNJAB POLLS CONTEST BETWEEN CONGRESS, AAP: AMARINDER
Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Sunday said the contest in the 2017 assembly elections in the state will be between his party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), as four AAP leaders joined the Congress.
"Our survey says the fight is between the Congress and the AAP. The (ruling) SAD-BJP alliance is nowhere. The AAP will be number 2 (in the elections)," Amarinder Singh said.
"AAP's graph in Punjab is declining every day. They have absolutely no standing in the state and have brought 50,000 people from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for campaigning," he added.
Welcoming AAP leaders -- C.M. Lakhanpal, P.K. Sharma, Iqbal Pannu and Barpur Singh -- who joined the Congress, Amarinder Singh accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of fooling the people and called him a "liar".
He dismissed as humbug Kejriwal's charges of a nexus between the Congress and the Akalis.
"Kejriwal and his team are spreading misinformation, and circulating pictures to mislead the people. I met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal only once, to offer condolences on his wife's death," the Congress leader said.
About Kejriwal's promise to appoint a Dalit as Deputy Chief Minister if his party came to power in Punjab, Amarinder Singh dismissed it as "fraudulent".
"Kejriwal has no Sikh or Dalit minister in Delhi and is merely trying to befool the people of Punjab through such misleading statements," he said.
WILL REQUEST PRIYANKA GANDHI TO HELP US IN ELECTIONEERING: AMARINDER
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh on Sunday said he will request Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Vadra Gandhi to campaign ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
In response to a question whether both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would be campaigning for the Congress in Punjab, Amarinder said: "Both of them will campaign. I will also request Priyanka Gandhi to help us with the electioneering in the state."
There have already been demands by Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders that Priyanka Gandhi should campaign in the state ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Priyanka Gandhi has so far confined her electoral campaigning to constituencies of her mother and brother Rahul Gandhi (Rae Bareli and Amethi) in UP, but is yet to agree to extending her efforts elsewhere in the state.
PUNJAB CONGRESS TO MOVE COURT OVER DEMONETISATION DEATHS
Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh on Sunday said the party's state unit will move the court over the demonetisation-related deaths across the country.
He also extended full support to the proposed strike by the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) in Ludhiana over the issue on December 16.
"Around 100 people have died while standing in bank and ATM queues while thousands are suffering due to cash crunch. The Punjab Congress will go to the court over the issue," said Amarinder Singh.
"The impact of demonetisation on the state's industries, already in the doldrums because of the Badal government's policies, has been devastating.
"The Modi government's ill-planned demonetisation move is virtually a criminal act, which has not only brought many lives to a tragic end but also rendered jobless thousands of contractual employees and labourers in industries," he added.
