Punjab Congress leaders huddle together, strongly oppose any likely alliance with AAP in Punjab

Warring while addressing a press conference after the meeting said Punjab Congress was the “principal opposition” party in Punjab and will continue to fight with ruling AAP in the state while raising people’s issues.

Ruling out that there could be any truck between Congress and AAP in Punjab, Warring said had that been the case, the Congress high command would have discussed it with the State unit first.

Multiple party leaders who attended the meeting told The Indian Express that Warring and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa were told to go to party high command and convey the sentiments of State Congress leaders and find about the finer contours of Congress’ strategy while being part of the grand alliance.

Talking to reporters, Warring asserted that I-N-D-I-A was an alliance of all opposition parties who are “against BJP and RSS ideology”. He said that “Congress has always fought for Constitutional values since independence till today. All parties which are against BJP and RSS ideology got together. You (media) projected it as an alliance.”

Warring added, “I agree that those parties who are against BJP who want to save democracies who want to safeguard constitution, they got together and the result is that PM Modi who contested last election alone he had to call 38 parties’ meeting which includes parties which neither has an MLA nor an MP. That means BJP finds ground slipping under their feet.”

Deputy leader of opposition Dr Raj Kumar, former Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana K P Singh, and former ministers Brahm Mohindra, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Aruna Chaudhary and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria were among the party leaders who attended the meeting.

Responding to a question, Warring said Congress was principally opposed to BJP led Centre government’s ordinance related to the control of services in Delhi. “How can we go with the BJP? We have fought with BJP on every issue, whenever there was something which was against democracy and to divide the nation. Even if Kejriwal had not sought our help, it was our duty to fight against those forces who wanted to divide the country,” he added.

After Congress and AAP joined the grand alliance of 26 parties, Punjab Congress, which has been highly critical of ruling AAP government in the State and CM Bhagwant Mann, is increasingly facing opponents’ jibes in the State and finds itself in a precarious situation.

In a satire via Twitter, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday, asked CM Mann “Whether to call Punjab Congress a ‘ruling party’ or the ‘opposition party’ ?”

Akali leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia, on a rather hilarious note, wanted seats re-allocation in Punjab Vidhan Sabha by shifting Congress legislators to treasury benches. In a letter to Vidhan Sabha speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Majithia, while detailing in length “quid pro-quo” between Congress and AAP demanded to “derecognise” Partap Singh Bajwa as leader of the opposition.

SAD president Sukhbir Badal too did not lag behind in mocking Congress and AAP leadership, putting out a photo on Twitter (which looked like a flex of some movie with “Netafix presents” written on top and Putt Delhi De {Sons of Delhi} in title) that carried caricatures of Sonia Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi on top and that of Bajwa, Warring Mann, Randhawa and Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema below the title.

In the tweet, Sukhbir wrote, “PUPPETS AND THEIR PUPPETEERS IN THE #INDIA PUTLI-GHAR: With strings pulled from Delhi, these figures filled with straw will be seen performing a puppet dance and disgrace Punjab by bartering away the Punjabis’ vital interests to promote Kejriwal and @RahulGandhi in the rest of the country. It will be quite a spectacle – a constantly “airborne CM @BhagwantMann flying over the “ground” reality of “watery graves” as Punjabis face a ‘Mann-made’ flood tragedy. None of these puppets who had been abusing one another till yesterday will have the courage to tell their puppeteers that they can’t even look one another in the eye when they will be forced to share the stage against the Sons of Punjab’s soil in Shiromani Akali Dal. Meanwhile, as Punjabis cry out for relief, the CM will continue to squander people’s money to promote @ArvindKejriwal outside Punjab. Hello #PuttDelhiDe!”

Meanwhile, a senior Punjab Congress leader said, “We are all opposed to any truck with the AAP. But, what if Congress high command decides so? After all this is what alliances are about and the grand alliance has come into being for a larger cause. The party leadership in the State should be ready with a plan B also regarding seat sharing, in case the alliance percolates down to the State.”

Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was all praise for I-N-D-I-A as he said it was “time to forget trivial selfish gains”. In a tweet, he said, “This is a battle for the existence of Democracy…’Constitutional Values’ will be extinct if those who rule as dictators under the garb of people’s power continue to enslave agencies which work for country’s welfare. ‘The Mahabharata’ was a battle between good and evil…this is a battle between democrats and autocrats…time to forget trivial selfish gains…discard parish-pump politics and work towards empowering ‘The Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic of India’ envisaged by our forefathers !! The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is the voice that will protect our constitutional ethos and fight for people’s issues…’People of India’ you have a choice, carve out your destiny…Vote for Democracy – Vote for INDIA – Vote Against Dictatorial Rule. Bravo I-N-D-I-A you’re fighting for the eternal spirit of our Constitution !!”