Amid the ongoing party controversy in Punjab, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Saturday lauded the coming together of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and former PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa, who have been face-to-face for a long time. Bajwa, who was replaced by Sunil Jakhar as the party’s state unit chief at the behest of Capt., has been a constant critic of the Amarinder Singh government. However, on Saturday, the two leaders eagerly clad in similar colored turbans not only met but also shared smiles and posed for photographs.
However, this union may not bode well for Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is contemplating being appointed as the chief of Punjab Congress. Sidhu, who has been engaged in an acrimonious conflict with the Captain with his hostility out in the open, has held talks with the Gandhi siblings in Delhi amid rumors of his possible elevation. However, Bajwa has opposed the idea of appointing Sidhu as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).
Bajwa, who has long been demanding the removal of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh along with other disgruntled state leaders, is learned to have “sealed” a political pact with his political rival. Bajwa had also mended his differences with Sukhjinder Randhawa and joined hands with Sidhu.
According to sources, a senior Congress leader apprised Sonia Gandhi of the opposition of some party members to Sidhu’s promotion, reportedly saying that “she does not even know the route to the PPCC office in Chandigarh”.
Tiwari, who stood in support of a Hindu face as party chief, welcomed the show of solidarity between Bajwa and Singh. “Great to see @Partap_Sbajwa & @capt_amarinder together with our honorable President @RanakpINC & @iranasodhi. Pratap whom I have known since 1983 and Captain Sahib will make a good team for times to come. He is an old dyed in wool Congress man,” Tiwari said.
Punjab Speaker Rana KP Singh, Rajya Sabha MP and former PPCC chairman Pratap Singh Bajwa and cabinet minister Rana Gurmeet Sodhi met Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at his residence on Saturday evening.
Earlier today Sidhu, who is seen as CM Amarinder Singh’s successor, met Punjab party chief Sunil Jakhar in Panchkula. According to party sources, his meeting with Jakhar is being seen as an attempt to bring everyone together ahead of the proposed announcement of the cricketer-turned-politician.
Besides Jakhar, Sidhu also met Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, senior leader Lal Singh, MLAs Amarinder Singh Raja Waring, Kulbir Zira, Darshan Brar and Barindermeet Singh Pahra.
Sidhu also tweeted pictures with three former Punjab Congress chiefs Pratap Singh Bajwa, Lal Singh and Shamsher Singh Dullo and current PPCC president Jakhar.
Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that any decision taken by Congress President Sonia Gandhi would be acceptable to all, even as talk of Sidhu’s uplift came to the fore on his repeated reservations.
Amarinder Singh’s statement came after his meeting with AICC general secretary and Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat, who had gone to Chandigarh as an attempt to pacify the chief minister. The chief minister also said that he raised “certain issues” with Rawat during the “successful” meeting at his farmhouse in Mohali.
According to sources, Amarinder Singh had told Rawat that he would not meet Sidhu until he publicly expressed regret or apologized for the tweets against him. Sources said that the chief minister is understood to have told Rawat that the manner in which the issue was handled was not acceptable and he still has reservations about Sidhu’s appointment but will accept whatever decision the leadership takes.
Sidhu has criticized Amarinder Singh after the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April quashed the probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing case. Sidhu had questioned the alleged “deliberate delay” in ensuring justice and accused Amarinder of evading responsibility in the 2015 sacrilege case.
Amarinder Singh wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi on Friday. He is understood to have said that giving the post of state party president to Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, would anger senior leaders representing the Hindu community and damage the Congress’s prospects in the 2022 assembly polls.
Suspense remains on the much awaited announcement of the party high command on the resolution of the ongoing dispute in Punjab Congress. If the party chooses to appoint Sidhu as the PPCC chief, there will be two Jat Sikhs in key positions. Amarinder Singh is also a Jat Sikh, while Jakhar is a Hindu.
There is also talk of appointing two working presidents—a Dalit and a Hindu face—to balance the caste equations.
Manish Tewari has advocated a Hindu face for the post of PCC chief giving details of the population structure of the state. “Punjab is both progressive and secular but it is important to balance social interest groups. Equality is the foundation of social justice!” He said in a tweet detailing the demographics of Punjab. He added that Sikhs constitute 57.75 per cent of the population, while Hindus and Dalits constitute 38.49 and 31.94 per cent respectively.
Rawat had said that the central leadership was working on a peace thread where both the leaders could work together to help the party win the Punjab Assembly elections next year.
The Congress had constituted a three-member panel headed by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to resolve the infighting in the Punjab unit. Both Sidhu and Amarinder Singh had also met the panel. Rival leaders have often publicly vented their differences and made statements against each other.
(with PTI inputs)
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