M A I N   N E W S

Hanspal meets dissidents
Anita Katyal and R. Suryamurthy
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 13
As the stalemate in the Punjab Congress remained unresolved, the party Central leadership is now trying to get the two warring leaders — Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal — to sit together and sort out their differences.

A step in this direction was made today when PPCC President H.S. Hanspal met the dissident group for the first time since the pending crisis took a turn for the worse.

As of now, a face-to-face meeting appears a near impossibility with Congress sources admitting that the chasm between the two leaders is becoming increasingly difficult to bridge.

Congress Central leaders are caught in a predicament: they do not want to succumb to pressure as it would lead to similar demands from other states. At the same time, they would also like to accommodate the dissidents. The effort, therefore, is to work out a compromise which has, so far, proved elusive.

Mr Hanspal had a two-hour meeting with Ms Bhattal and other dissident legislators, who were adamant on their demand for the removal of the Chief Minister.

Emerging from the stormy meeting, Mr Hanspal said he would now apprise the three-member AICC panel about the grievances of the dissident legislators. He admitted that though they were insisting on a leadership change, he remained optimistic about a compromise being worked out.

His optimism was based on the fact that the legislators maintained that they would not do anything which would weaken the party. They also said that they would abide by the decision of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. “There is every possibility of resolving this matter to the satisfaction of all factions,” said Mr Hanspal, adding that their grievances could be addressed without a leadership change.

Earlier, in the meeting with the dissidents, the latter listed out their grievances against Capt Amarinder Singh and also accused the PCC chief of being identified with the Chief Minister’s faction. They also wanted to know why Mr Hanspal had not taken this initiative earlier.

Mr Hanspal later briefed Mohsina Kidwai, AICC general secretary incharge of Punjab, about this meeting. He also met the Chief Minister and was closeted with him till late in the evening.

At the same time, the dissidents stepped up their demand on leadership change with Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal saying “Ours is a single point agenda ... we will stay put in Delhi till this demand is met.”

When asked whether any other compromise formula was being proposed by the Congress Central leadership, she said “We will abide by Sonia Gandhi’s decision.”

Meanwhile, executive members of the PPCC demanded an emergency meeting of the committee to resolve this crisis.

“The PPCC President should immediately convene an emergency meeting as the activities of the legislators are harming the interest of the Congress in the state and the views of the party office-bearers are not being taken into consideration by the AICC panel,” vice president of the Punjab PCC M M Singh Cheema, told The Tribune.

He said the panel should also take into consideration the views of the PPCC executive members before formulating any decision.

Third group guns for CM’s key men
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13
While dissidents led by Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal have only a one-point agenda — change of Punjab Congress Legislature Party leader — another group, smaller and claiming itself to be neutral, has started gunning for some key members in the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s team.

The efforts of the All-India Congress Committee in defusing the present crisis notwithstanding, the Chief Minister is reported to be under pressure from a group of loyalists, staying neutral in the present crisis, to make changes in his Secretariat.

Members of this group have been pressing that not only the Chief Minister’s office be reorganised, but those proving hurdles in the rapprochement also be shuffled.

Some members of this group have been mostly keeping themselves aloof from the numbers game. They, however, share a grievance with dissidents against the functioning of certain influential members of the Chief Ministers’ inner circle. But members of this group, on condition of anonymity, maintain that they do not want to precipitate the crisis.

The Chief Minister claimed yesterday that for him the crisis was over as the party high command had asked him to go back and continue with his routine work as Chief Minister. Immediately afterwards, he rushed back to the union capital. He did not return to Delhi alone. All those who came with him, also returned to Delhi, giving credence to the speculation that the crisis was far from over.

Badal asks Governor to call special session
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 13
The SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today stepped up pressure on the crisis-ridden Congress government, by writing to the Punjab Governor Justice O.P. Verma (retd) to summon a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to ask the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

In the letter to the Governor, copies of which were released to the media today, the Leader of the Opposition, claimed “there is total administrative paralysis in the state and the government is no longer in a position to lawfully discharge its constitutional obligations towards the people.”

Drawing the Governor’s attention to the atmosphere of political uncertainty and anarchy prevailing in the state as a result of revolt in the ruling party against the Chief Minister, the SAD President claimed that Capt Amarinder Singh no longer enjoyed the confidence of both his party as well as of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

Mr Badal has stated that as per the Chief Minister’s own claims of having the support of just 40 MLAs, his government has been reduced to a minority. As per the People’s Representation Act and various other provisions of the Constitution, the Amarinder government has lost majority support in the House and hence “has no right to continue in office.’’

The letter, along with the resolution passed by SAD’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) yesterday making a similar demand on the Governor, was delivered to the Punjab Raj Bhavan today by party Secretary, Mr Daljit Singh Cheema.

While alleging that legislators were being wooed and induced to enlist support for the Chief Minister, Mr Badal said this had given rise to “dangerous unconstitutional and unethical practices such as horse-trading etc.