Punjab Congress fight turns ugly, Warring and Channi supporters in free-for-all
Rival sides clash in Sangrur, nearly come to blows in Patiala in presence of AICC gen secy Baghel
Supporters of Channi shouted slogans in favour of the former CM and sitting Jalandhar MP as soon as Warring (right) and Baghel arrived at the Sangrur meeting venue In an ugly turn to the rivalry between senior Congress leaders in Punjab, supporters of PCC president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi clashed Saturday at a party meeting in Sangrur and nearly came to blows in Patiala in the presence of Bhupesh Baghel, AICC general secretary in-charge for Punjab where Assembly elections are due next year.
Supporters of Channi shouted slogans in favour of the former CM and sitting Jalandhar MP as soon as Warring and Baghel arrived at the Sangrur meeting venue. Soon, a free-for-all broke out with people pushing and shoving, flinging chairs at each other.
As the two sides confronted each other, Warring appealed for peace. “If you think you can bring down Raja Warring by shouting slogans, then you are mistaken,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Sangrur, Dr Sukhwinder Singh, a Channi supporter, said the Congress high command and Baghel were not paying heed to the sentiments of the people on the ground. “People want Channi to be the CM face of the party. Today when we raised slogans in his favour, Warring called us sold-out agents of (CM) Bhagwant Mann. We are fourth generation Congressmen. At this rate, if Warring remains party president, we will have to move out,” he said.
Earlier in the day, at a meeting in Patiala, similar scenes were witnessed when supporters of Channi raised slogans in his favour in the presence of Warring and Baghel.
Channi supporters repeatedly chanted slogans of “Charanjit Singh Channi Zindabad” and “Channi liaao, Punjab bachao” (bring Channi, save Punjab) slogans. The sloganeering and hooting began as Warring started speaking. This disrupted the scheduled programme.
Visibly upset, Warring asked why slogans were being raised. He warned that disciplinary action would be taken against those disrupting party programmes. He was heard asking “koi problem hai, koi problem hai (is there any problem) while pointing towards a person in the crowd raising slogans in favour of Channi.
There was some jostling between the supporters of Channi and Warring even as speakers from the dais kept asking everyone “not to spoil the atmosphere”.
The fight within the party came out in the open during the ‘Har booth Congress mazboot’, one in a series of weeklong events to launch the Congress’s 2027 election mission.
A July 9 PCC letter, suspending former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, a Channi supporter, also surfaced Saturday. Jalalpur had been demanding the removal of Warring and was suspended for anti-party activities.
Baghel is on a 10-day visit to the state and is holding meetings in various cities to launch the poll campaign.
In his speech, Warring said, “I will make efforts in the coming days to ensure that everyone is on the same stage… It is also important to not lose cool in the enthusiasm,” he said.
Baghel said the future Chief Minister and other ministers will be chosen by the Congress high command including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The duty of the Congress leaders and workers, he said, is to ensure the victory of the party because “Punjab needs to be saved from the misrule of the Aam Aadmi Party government”.
Calling for unity in the party, he said there can be differences within a party like within a family, but the actual fight of the party is against the BJP, the AAP and the Akalis.
Share
