Infighting in Punjab Congress: 3-member panel to meet first batch of MLAs tomorrow

The three-member committee of the Congress, constituted by the AICC president Sonia Gandhi to look into internal feud in Punjab unit of the party, will start meeting MLAs and other Punjab Congress leaders from Monday.

This decision was taken during the first meeting of the committee that was held in Delhi on Saturday. The day also saw former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi dial over a dozen Punjab Congress leaders to inquire about the situation in the Punjab unit, sources revealed.

“He is aware of the issues. He just wanted to hear it from us once,” said a leader.

Meanwhile, the first batch of 25 party leaders, including MLAs, have been asked to come to Delhi to appear before the committee on Monday. The meetings with Punjab leaders will continue for next 2-3 days till the time all leade rs are heard.

The committee is led by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, with former Delhi MP, J P Agarwal, and general secretary in charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat, as members.

“We will meet them individually and listen to them. After listening to their issues, we will sort out the matter,” Rawat said after the meeting. The committee will also meet Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar.

Rawat added, “We will also meet Captain sahib, Jakhar sahib, Sidhu ji, Randhawa ji, Channi ji and Partap Bajwa ji. We may come to Chandigarh also to hold these meetings.”

He reiterated that there would be no change in the government and the party organisation in Punjab.

“Nobody has demanded any change in the leadership. Then why even talk about it,” Rawat said.

On Navjot Sidhu’s tirade against the CM, he said, “Sidhu is a strong pillar of the party and the CM is a father figure. Both are senior leaders.”
Sources said that more leaders were expecting a call from Rahul Gandhi in days going forward.