Chandigarh, April 2
While the party high command appears to be in no hurry to decide the fate of former Member of Parliament and member of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC Jagmeet Brar, Punjab Congressmen are all set to go to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi there.
Led by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief, Mr H.S. Hanspal, it may perhaps be the first delegation of the state unit of any political party to go to Pakistan. A decision on Mr Brar may not come before the PPCC delegation crosses over to Pakistan on April 11. The PPCC has fixed April 4 as the deadline for receiving applications from Congressmen interested in accompanying the delegation.
Meanwhile, Mr Brar has challenged the authenticity of the list bearing the signatures of members of the Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP) which was sent to Mr Pranab Mukherjee by Mr Hanspal yesterday. Mr Hanspal has demanded the suspension of Mr Brar from the primary membership of the party for six years, accusing him of anti-party tirade.
Mr Brar, in a signed statement this evening, said that the “signatures of 62 legislators against me is an invented story to deceive the party high command as half of the signatures are false and fabricated.”
Describing yesterday’s letter as a direct challenge to the party high command, Mr Brar said that his representation against the call for his social boycott given by Mr Hanspal was still pending with Mr Mukherjee.
Mr Brar held that he was astonished to find the signatures of the Speaker, Dr Kewal Krishan, and the Deputy Speaker, Mr Darbari Lal, in the list. The Leader of the CLP, Capt Amarinder Singh, also did not sign it. The Deputy Chief Minister, Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, also refused to sign.
Accusing the Chief Minister of trying to use the offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker to meet his own ends, Mr Brar said that constitutionally both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker should be kept
out of such controversies and
intra-party politics as it weakened the democratic system. He said he had worked with both Dr Kewal Krishan, who is known as “zinda shaheed”, and Mr Darbari Lal, a man of great intellect and calibre.
“If the Chief Minister is so keen on playing the numbers game, why did he back out of the commitment he had made to 30 legislators for holding a meeting of the CLP on March 31. Congress MLAs wanted to raise some burning issues at the meeting.
“If a secret ballot is held on the directive of the party high command, the Chief Minister will know the difference between 62 MLAs and 22 MLAs, “ quipped Mr Brar.
Copies of the letter with 62 signatures was leaked to the Press 12 hours before it was sent to the party high command by the Chief Whip , he alleged.
He said whatever decision the party high command took, he would abide by it. “To my mind, the decision of the Chief Minister is shallow, senseless, sloppy and stupid,” he concluded.
