More than a month after a strategic policy group was set up to ensure smooth coordination between the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government and state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, the panel has yet to assess the continuing deterioration in ties between the two. Indicating has not started working.
The policy group is yet to start as the meetings have been postponed three times, the latest being a few days ago. The delay is being cited as a clear indication that differences between the chief minister and the PPCC chief are yet to be resolved, while the two leaders have separately met senior party leaders, including Harish Rawat, on various issues.
The Group of Ministers and four working chairmen were to meet first on September 2, then on September 9 and again on September 16.
Each time the reason for adjournment was cited as non-availability of members. The group includes ministers Brahm Mohindra, Manpreet Singh Badal, Aruna Choudhary, OP Soni, Balbir Sidhu and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Congress working president Sangat Singh Giljian, Kuljit Nagra, Sukhwinder Danny and Pawan Goyal and Pargat Singh.
While Chief Minister Singh is the chairman of the committee, Sidhu, being the PCC chief, is the co-chair. There have been differences from the beginning. Although initially more members of the chief minister’s camp were inducted, later additional members, mainly loyalists of Sidhu, were elected.
The senior Congress leader said that the solution is to discuss pending issues setting aside personal differences. “But all combinations and combinations will be correct if the committee members meet and decide to put aside the pending issues of the people and their individual differences,” the leader said. Party leaders admitted that the delay in holding the meeting was also leading to confusion in the party cadre ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections and conflicting statements were coming from both sides.
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