Punjab Congress crisis: Navjot Sidhu's rehabilitation likely on agenda as Capt meets AICC panel

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 4

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh arrived at around 11 am to meet the AICC panel constituted to review the status of party organisation and defended the government in the face of criticism from quarters led by former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The CM’s meeting with the panel followed a virtual meeting the committee held with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who was briefed about the takeaways from several days of deliberations with Punjab leaders.

‘The Tribune’ has learnt that Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi virtually joined the meeting of Amarinder Singh with the AICC panel on the state. Congress general Secretary organisation KC Venugopal also joined. The leaders are learnt to have discussed governance issues in the state, revamp of PCC and a role for Navjot Sidhu apart from other measures necessary to boost party’s electoral chances for 2022 as the state faces incumbency.

The deliberations started on Monday and the panel is expected to submit a report to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi by the weekend for her to take the final call.

The CM, sources said, presented a strong defence of the Punjab government to the panel and told the committee that the Special Investigation Team on Bargari sacrilege was doing its work and the matter was a work in progress in which the law will take its course.

Sidhu, and MP Partap Singh Bajwa have been leading the offensive against the CM accusing him of laxity in the Bargari case while the CM and the government has been maintaining that the SIT probe was ongoing.

On the complaint by some MLAs regarding bureaucratic stranglehold in Punjab, the CM is likely to ask what the credentials of the critics are and whether they are above board.

A major point of discussion in today’s meeting would be revamp of the Punjab unit which has been in a limbo for long due to lack of consensus on what role to accord to Sidhu who wants to the state unit President.

The CM for his part has offered Sidhu to return to the cabinet, even in a portfolio of his choice.

An agreement between the two leaders on Sidhu’s role is still elusive with the AICC panel expected to suggest some way out.

Meanwhile, The Tribune has learnt that the majority leaders who met the panel wanted the CM retained for 2022 polls and flagged procedural issues such as lack of accessibility on his part, bureaucratic hold of Punjab and lack of outreach with the cadre.

This part can be worked out through delivery mechanisms and interfaces the CM may propose to create to ensure citizen outreach.

Meanwhile, the PCC reorganisation could turn out to be the bigger takeaway of AICC panel meetings.