Clamour in Punjab Congress for isolating Charanjit Channi, Navjot Sidhu backers

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 14

Pressure is building in the Punjab Congress to isolate the pressure group in central leadership that played a key role in giving lead roles to Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM face and Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief.

Poll loss wakeup call

It is a wakeup call. Learning from past mistakes, person with credible face should be made the Congress legislature party (CLP) leader. Sunil Jakhar, Former PCC President

Harish Chaudhary calls meet of Malwa leaders

Chandigarh: A day after a CWC meeting was held in New Delhi to review the party debacle in the elections, Punjab affairs incharge Harish Chaudhary on Monday convened a meeting of party leaders, including unsuccessful candidates, from the Malwa region here on Tuesday. The meeting for Doaba and Majha leaders will be held in the coming days. The party leaders would be asked to comment on the reasons for party’s poor show. TNS

Days after the humiliating defeat of the party in the elections, traditional Congress men are realigning to keep the turncoats out of the scene. The ‘G-23’ leaders have also demanded that traditional partymen should be made state party unit chiefs.

On Monday, former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar hit out at Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni over her reported remark during the CWC meeting describing Channi as an “asset”. Taking to Twitter, he said: “An asset — are you joking? Thank God he wasn’t declared a ‘national treasure’ at CWC by the ‘Punjabi’ lady who proposed him as the CM in first place. Maybe an asset for her but for the party he has been only a liability. Not the top brass, but his own greed pulled him and the party down.”

Jakhar further said the narrative building around the “humble” background of Channi had been demolished after the corruption taint on his nephew, costing the party dear.

“It is a wakeup call. Learning from past mistakes, person with credible face should be made the Congress legislature party (CLP) leader,” said Jakhar as he advised central leadership not to give wrong advice to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Gill said the Congress had to be revived and Taksali party leaders had to be heard. Party leaders are asking for boosting the morale of the party cadre.

Sources in the party said churning had started within the party to expose the leaders who had been giving wrong advice to the party high command in the run-up to the Assembly elections. Questions are being asked about the role of previous Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat in running the affairs of Punjab Congress. MP Ravneet Bittu has already questioned the role of Channi and Sidhu.

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