Political battle continues in Punjab Cong, CLP meeting today in Chandigarh
Sep 18, 2021
New Delhi [India], September 18 : The political tussle among Congress leaders in Punjab has not settled yet as MLAs have written to top leadership demanding a legislative party meeting.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab Congress Harish Rawat informed that after consideration of requests from a large number of MLAs, a meeting of the Congress legislative party (CLP) to be convened on Saturday at 5 pm at Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee office.
"The AICC has received a representation from a large number of MLAs from the Congress party, requesting to immediately convene a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party of Punjab. Accordingly, a meeting of the CLP has been convened at 5:00 PM on 18th September at the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee office. AICC directs the PPCC to facilitate this meeting. All congress MLAs of Punjab are requested to kindly attend this meeting," Rawat tweeted.
There have been efforts from the AICC leadership to settle the instability within the party, but, there seems to be a political impasse.
Sources close to Rawat have denied that the MLAs demanded to resolve the ongoing rift from the party's interim chief Sonia Gandhi. However, a senior leader from the state unit of the party told ANI that around 40 MLAs wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi to reconsider the leadership of state Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and requested for a CLP meeting to discuss the matter.
After the change of guard in Punjab with the appointment of new state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Cabinet reshuffle was scheduled on the cards. However, the reshuffling seems to have erupted the infighting in the state.
A delegation of MLAs and Ministers who are supposed to be from Navjot Singh Sidhu camp met Harish Rawat in Dehradun two weeks ago and asked to intervene in the matter. As a result, the party is not able to give a green signal to Cabinet reshuffle.
Now a large section of party MLAs is on the side of Sidhu while party MPs from Punjab, Ministers and several other MLAs are in support of Captain Amarinder Singh.
Today's legislative party meeting will be a show of strength for both sides.
Meanwhile, in the Cabinet rejig, which is very likely, few state ministers, who are on the verge of losing the membership to the Cabinet, are fearing the chance to not get party's ticket this time, said a senior party leader.
However, it is enticing to wait for further developments in the politics of the Punjab Congress.
