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Amarinder cancels Cabinet meeting
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 14
In what could have been a major embarrassment, the Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh , today cancelled the proposed Cabinet meeting on December 16, as dissident ministers, who have demanded his removal from the post, were unlikely to attend it.

The Chief Minister, who returned from Ferozepore tonight, told The Tribune here that the proposed meeting had been “cancelled.”

He said the meeting had been called “in routine” but he had given instructions for its cancellation.

The dissident group in the state Congress, which had received information today about the proposed meeting, had decided to “boycott” it.

Sources said though no formal decision had been taken by the dissident group about not taking part in the proposed Cabinet meeting, there was near unanimity among them about not attending it.

The Chief Minister met Mr Ahmed Patel, member of the three-member AICC team, in the morning.. AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni met the Chief Minister at his residence in the evening. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Mr R.L. Bhatia.

Fissures appear in PPCC
R. Suryamurthy
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 14
Fissures seems to have appeared in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee with a section demanding convening of an emergency meeting of the state PCC and the President of the state unit, H.S. Hanspal, categorically rejecting the demand.

“There is no need for such an emergency meeting. The AICC panel is looking into the Punjab Congress crisis and there is no need for the PPCC to intervene in the issue at this stage,” Mr Hanspal told The Tribune.

On the other hand, Mr M.M. Singh Cheema, Vice-President of the PPCC reiterated his demand for convening of an emergency meeting of the committee to resolve the 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 the party office-bearers are not being taken into consideration by the AICC panel” he said.

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

The General Secretary of the party, Mr Darshan Singh Brar, expressed support to the demand of the emergency meeting.

They were of the view that the party is supreme and the acts of legislators were harming the interests of the party.

Interestingly, Mr Hanspal met dissident legislators and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh yesterday to appraise himself of the situation and report his assessment to the three-member AICC panel.

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