Bajwa takes off on ‘reconciliatory’ note,to retain Amarinder’s team

“I have a personal equation with Amarinder,as I have worked as a minister in his cabinet and that continues even now. I called him up to seek his blessings and he said he has no hard feelings towards me and he will stand by the decision of party president Sonia Gandhi. I will seek his advice and keep him in loop of things whenever I take up any action against working of SAD,” Bajwa said. This comes a day after Amarinder said that if consulted,he may have given a different name for a successor to Sonia Gandhi.

To begin his innings as the PPCC head,Bajwa plans to have a legal services cell to provide free aid to Congress workers “facing harassment in the hands of the ruling party”.

“They slap false cases on our men,who do not have the means to fight them in courts. Many of our candidates in civic body elections were disqualified on wrong grounds. The party will have to stand up for them. We will ask everybody to contribute through cheques for the legal fund. Many advocates have told me they will offer free service to us,” he added.

Being a MP,though he will not be able to play a role in the Vidhan Sabha,he said he will be present in the one of the gallery-ies to be in loop of the happenings.

Though he avoids taking a dig at Amarinder,he said his action against SAD will not be mere lip service. “We cannot fight them by issuing press statements and holding press conferences. If they register false cases,we will gherao them. We will not take law into our hands but it will be symbolic that we will not let them or the police browbeat our people,” he said.

And it is not the rival factions in Congress that he thinks are his biggest challenge. “After the unexpected results of last Assembly polls,Congress workers morale became low. Police atrocities by Akalis have pushed them into a shell. Our workers are in every nook and corner,in every village and mohalla. I will go to meet them and draw a roadmap to take on the government,” he added.