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Cong’s food for thought for warring Punjab leaders
High command hosts lunch for partymen in Delhi, dishes out lessons in unity
Aditi Tandon/TNS

Those who came together Former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh Former Congress Legislature Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa Senior state Congress leader Jagmeet Brar Punjab CLP leader Sunil Jakhar Former state Congress working president Lal Singh Senior Punjab Dalit leader SS Dullo

New Delhi, October 14
Concerned over persisting factionalism in its Punjab unit, the Congress high command today resorted to lunch diplomacy to have its state leaders sink their differences and pledge unity in the interest of the party ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Hosted by Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab Shakeel Ahmed at the plush India Islamic Centre here, the feast laid out by the famous Habib Caterers saw a rare line-up of guests who hardly come together across one table.

Former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh and former Congress Legislature Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal were not just sitting together with incumbent Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa and senior state Congress leader Jagmeet Brar, but also breaking bread with them. Punjab CLP leader Sunil Jakhar, former state Congress working president Lal Singh and senior Punjab Dalit leader SS Dullo were also present on the occasion.

Out of the eight invitees on Shakeel Ahmed’s list, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, the newly appointed member of Punjab PCC coordination committee, was the sole absentee. He is away in connection with a family wedding.

“It was an informal meeting where everyone was very cordial. We discussed party affairs in general and had lunch. All Punjab Congress leaders have pledged unity for the party,” Shakeel Ahmed told The Tribune. Discussions at the three-hour get-together mainly centred around the need for warring Punjab Congress leaders to display unity in the face of Akali Dal’s aggressive tactics. The recent show of differences between Bajwa and Capt Amarinder Singh at the Sangrur rally which Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addressed was also discussed.

“The message from the party was clear-differences would not be appreciated. It was also clarified that all Punjab Congress events must have top state leaders on board and should not come across as a one-man show,” a state leader who attended the lunch said.

The assembly assumes political significance because it is for the first time in a long period that squabbling state Congress leaders have come together for a dialogue. The luncheon meeting was approved by Rahul Gandhi after Shakeel Ahmed proposed it on their way back from Sangrur recently. Such meetings will now be held on weekly basis with one of the senior Punjab leaders hosting lunch or dinner by rotation.

Bajwa said, “The meeting ended on a positive note and all of us pledged to work together for the party to ensure maximum seats for the Congress in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Our common goal is to make Rahul Gandhi the next PM of India and for that we are all ready to work together. We will meet every week and one of us will host a lunch or dinner by rotation.”