Day after ruckus at Ludhiana event, Congress, BJP leaders launch fresh salvos at Warring
Mamta Ashu, former Congress councillor, and wife of Bharat Bhushan Ashu, took to social media and asked questions from Warring
A day after a slogan war between rival Congress camps marred an event of the party in the city, leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have launched fresh attacks on Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
Factionalism within the Congress was once again on display at the event on Thursday as supporters
of former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans as the party’s Punjab unit chief Warring and other leaders reached the stage.
Mamta Ashu, former Congress councillor, and wife of Bharat Bhushan Ashu, took to social media and asked questions from Warring, who is also the Ludhiana MP.
In a post on Facebook, Mamta Ashu asked Warring “if he did get time to talk about the real issues concerning the city, since he won the MP elections from Ludhiana”.
Mamta also questioned if Warring spoke on bad conditions of roads in the city, the issues of sanitation workers, Buddha Nullah pollution and the strategy of the Congress for the 2027 Assembly elections.
Taking a dig at what she called were “personal attacks” made by Warring on Congress workers during the event at Guru Nanak Bhawan on Thursday, Mamta Ashu said, “Perhaps the Punjab Congress president was so busy passing remarks against his own party’s workers and leaders that he forgot to talk about the real issues of the city, even as he is the MP.”
Sunny Bhalla, a former Congress councillor who was among those targeted in Warring’s statements, also did a live stream on Facebook and sarcastically thanked the Punjab Congress chief for “extending support” when he was on the Vigilance Department’s radar. Bhalla claimed the reality was that nothing was found against him.
Bhalla is considered a close aide of Bharat Bhushan Ashu. The video comes after Warring said people he “saved” from Vigilance were now opposing him.
“I thought it was God who saved me, but today, I came to know that it was our president Warring. I wish to tell Warring that we, as staunch supporters of the party, worked hard when he was contesting the Lok Sabha elections. The women of our houses, along with the family members of Warring, made door-to-door visits in his support, but we never boasted about it. In fact, Ravneet Singh Bittu gave me shelter for two days at his house, and till date, he has not uttered a word on that matter even as we fought against him after had joined the BJP. As far as Warring’s reaction is concerned, we did not speak against anyone at the event yesterday. Slogans were raised in favour of Ashu, another hard-working leader of the party, which should not have gone bad with anyone,” said Bhalla.
In a press conference after the event on Thursday, Warring had said the state Congress committee will send details of those who created “indiscipline” during their events to the party high-command.
However, Bhalla said if raising slogans in favour of a Congress leader were considered indiscipline, the supporters were ready to face the consequences.
BJP condemns remarks against RSS
Senior BJP leader and spokesperson Kamaljeet Singh Soi launched a blistering attack on Warring and said the Congress had “descended from democratic politics into politics of mudslinging, personal attacks, internal feuds and poisonous rhetoric”. He slammed the Punjab Congress chief’s remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“The Congress has become a political cancer that is eating away at its own credibility, and Warring appears to have become one of its most visible symptoms. Dragging the RSS into your dirty politics will neither hide your party’s internal failures, nor answer the questions being raised about your political conduct,” he said.
At the event on Thursday, Warring had said the workers raising slogans were “RSS agents”.
Soi said the RSS represents nationalism, discipline, service, sacrifice, social commitment and devotion to the nation. He added that Warring should first answer questions arising within his own political establishment, instead of attempting to drag the RSS into Congress’ internal battles.
Voicing similar views, BJP’s Gurdeep Singh Gosha said people like Warring were enough to ruin the Congress, and no one else was needed.
