An uneasy calm in the Congress

The Punjab Congress is witnessing a lull before the storm. The by-elections to two Assembly constituencies seem to be keeping its dissidents...

The Punjab Congress is witnessing a lull before the storm. The by-elections to two Assembly constituencies seem to be keeping its dissidents low. They are likely to raise their banner of revolt once the results are out — whether or not the results go in party’s favour is another matter. Not that the run-up to the by-elections is any display of bonhomie among the Congressmen. The party’s election manager for the Kapurthala seat was changed thrice. Top dissidents, including Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, are keeping themselves aloof from campaigning even as they sharpen knife to take on Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. For now, the only concession is that they are not publicly attacking the CM. Also, even as the Chief Minister got a fresh lease of life after his unilateral action on the SYL issue by bringing in legislation to nullify the apex court’s judgement, the dissidents believe his days as the chief minister are numbered. Evidently he had caused considerable embarrassment to the party leadership at the Centre. Though the issue has now been referred to the Supreme Court, observers do not rule out action by the party high command before the Haryana Assembly elections due in February next year.

CM’s ‘team’ and brewing dissidence

Any development concerning the ‘coterie’ around Capt Amarinder Singh causes ripples in the state. After all, the dissidents had listed the existence of ‘cotorie’ as one of their major grouses against the chief minister. They had demanded immediate removal of his powerful advisor B.I.S. Chahal and principal secretary (Home) Sanjit Sinha. As an immediate concession to them, the chief minister had sent Chahal on leave and the dissidents were given the impression that it was the first step towards his removal. However, Chahal had declared even at that time that he had proceeded on leave to go abroad. And to be sure, he rejoined after his two-month leave. Sinha too continued to remain at his post despite the demand to remove him. Now he has proceeded on a month’s leave and the corridors of power are abuzz with the talk that he may not return to the same post.

One pat for the govt

The only major foreign investment in Punjab that the Amarinder Singh government can boast of is the one pertaining to Quark. The multi-million MNC is setting up a Quark City near Chandigarh. Spread over 51 acres, the project is worth over $500 million. It is expected to generate 1.25 lakh jobs and will have 2.8 million square feet allocated to office space. Besides, it proposes to have 700 state-of-the-art residential apartments. Some of these may cost upto Rs 1 crore but there would be no dearth of willing buyers.

— Compiled by Vipin Pubby

Trump announces TikTok deal, surprise China visit ‘early next year’ after call with Xi

World4 hr ago

Trump and Xi had a successful phone call, addressing trade, Fentanyl, and TikTok. They plan to meet at APEC Summit and for Trump to visit China, with Xi visiting the US. Congress wants TikTok to sell its US assets or shut down, but Trump has not enforced this due to the app's value and progress.

View all shorts

Live Blog