Cong panel on Punjab meets MLAs to find common ground for truce
Darpan News Desk IANS, 31 May, 2021 11:12 AM
New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) A Congress panel met ministers and MLAs in New Delhi to find out a common ground to end factionalism in Punjab with the state going to the polls next year. The panel will meet Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also.
In the Monday meet Congress state president Sunil Jakhar met the committee constituted by party president Sonia Gandhi comprising of Mallikarjun Kharge, JP Aggarwal and General Secretary In charge of the state Harish Rawat.
Apart from Sunil Jakhar, ministers in the Punjab government, Sunder Sham Arora, Charanjit Channi, Aruna Chowdhry, Brahm Mohindra, OP Soni, Manpreet Badal, Tript Bajwa, Rana Sodhi and Sukhjinder Randhawa also met the committee.
The committee will continue its consultations till Wednesday. Navjot Singh Sidhu is likely to meet the members on Tuesday. Sources indicated that there is no talk of replacing the Chief Minister, only rehabilitation of the important leaders.
Sidhu wants his rehabilitation either in the government or the party. He has been attacking the Chief Minister, saying that he is waiting as the high command has intervened. Sidhu dared the chief minister to prove his allegations of his joining another party.
However, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) will not take the risk of replacing the Chief Minister as there is nobody of his stature to face the Akali Dal specially the Badal family. The Congress will have to devise a middle path as 20 MLAs are reported to be unhappy with the Amarinder Singh's style of functioning.
Sources said the committee will perform a balancing act between the two factions. Sidhu and one non Sikh leader may be appointed as Deputy Chief Ministers. The committee is expected to submit its report this week itself.
Ram Awla, Gurkirat Singh, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Arun Dogra, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rana KP and Rakesh Pandey also met the panel.
Most of the MLAs complained about arbitrary actions by the CM but the key concern was the government's inability to bring to book the culprits in the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib and police firing during peaceful protests in 2015, which was in the party election manifesto.
The Centre on Thursday announced the first instalment of a fiscal relief package, worth Rs 170,000 crore, to protect the weaker sections of the society from the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here on Thursday announced immediate distribution of 10 lakh packets of dry ration to daily wagers and unorganised labourers to help them during the curfew because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Urging the police personnel to exercise maximum restraint in the difficult situation, the Chief Minister asked them to find more compassionate ways of handling curfew violations, especially in cases of individuals found moving out for essentials.
A 63-year-old woman from Kangra who failed to disclose her travel history following her return from Dubai and was later tested positive for COVID-19 has been booked under Section 270 of the IPC, which carries a maximum imprisonment of upto two years.
In an unprecedented incident, a Mumbai man allegedly killed his younger brother for trying to step out of home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown period, police said here on Thursday.
