New Delhi, December 18
The crisis in the Punjab Congress might have blown over for now but the Congress Central leadership now faces the onerous task of bridging the deep divide which has surfaced in the state party unit.
Admitting that the open factional battle in the Punjab Congress has done immense damage to the party, senior leaders here said that before addressing the dissidents’ demand for a leadership change, it was first necessary to ensure that the party presents a united front.
While maintaining that removal of the chief minister alone will not alter this fundamental
problem, indications were that the leadership issue is still wide open given the strong resentment against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
Congress leaders said further consultations will be held with the legislators after the winter session of Parliament and the main issue before them is to safeguard the interest of the party and not any individual.
The dissidents and the Chief Minister, who held separate meetings with Congress President Sonia Gandhi last night, have left it to her to take a final view on this matter.
The dissidents, who have started dispersing from Punjab Bhavan, were upbeat about last night’s developments with Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal being led out in a virtual victory procession. A beaming Ms Bhattal pointed out that the strength of her supporters was growing and that she was in constant touch with all MLAs.
The Chief
Minister, on the other hand, appeared to be in a conciliatory mood today. Reaching out to the dissidents, he said, he was willing to correct himself.
Further, he admitted he had undertaken administrative changes following objections from his colleagues. “There was some animosity to my advisers, so in the interest of the party and reconciliation, I have made these changes,” Capt Amarinder Singh told presspersons today.
At the same time, the Chief Minister said that he was not planning to call a Cabinet meeting in the near future. “I am not going to call the Cabinet meeting till this issue is resolved. Also, there is no urgent issue before the government,” he explained.
When asked whether the Congress Central leaders planned to send a team of observers to the state for further talks with the MLAs, the Chief Minister brushed aside such a proposal.
“There is no need for the High Command for a second round of talks when we have left it to the Congress president to decide,” he said, adding that Central observers were generally sent to test the strength of the party, which was not required
here.
