New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Singh Bittu, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, sparking a buzz in Punjab Congress which recently faced a humiliating defeat in the Assembly elections which were swept by the Aam Aadmi Party.
"Today I met the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Sh. @narendramodi ji and discussed issues of Punjab," Bittu tweeted.
While Congress leaders restrained from commenting on the meeting, sources close to Bittu said that there was nothing much in the meeting which was a courtesy call. However, recent instances of Congress leaders leaving the party have triggered speculation of another Congressman desetring the party.
Bittu met the Prime Minister just a day ahead of the meeting of the Congress legislative party.
Bittu is the grandson of Beant Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjsb who was assasinated by terrorists in 1995.
Ever since the Congress chose to appoint Charanjit Singh Channi as the Chief Minister of Punjab months before the Assembly elections last year, all is not well in the party.
Due to the internal rift in the party, Congress faced massive defeat in the elections.
Bittu belongs to the camp which was more aligned to former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
While the Centre's announcement to repeal three farm laws is seen as a political decision with eye on forthcoming assembly polls in five states, the BJP claims that it has nothing to do with elections as the party has won many states after laws were passed by the Parliament.
On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws after scores of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pitched their tents on various Delhi borders in protest against the three laws.
A nine-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the consortium of protesting farmers' bodies, will be meeting on Saturday, and it is likely to put forth four main demands. The meeting will also decide whether the SKM will go ahead with the originally announced 'March Towards Delhi' programme on November 26.
Congress legislator and Punjab unit party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the minimum support price (MSP) is the bigger issue than farm laws as it is the lifeline of farmers.
Extending his greetings to the people on Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, the Chief Minister said it was really a matter of great honour to inaugurate this prestigious project which happens to coincide with Gurpurab.
Three employees of Air India, accused of having a role in the smuggling of gold, have been arrested, officials said on Friday. They have been accused of having a hand in a recent incident wherein 1.5 kg gold -- stored beneath an aircraft's seat -- was seized.
