Sunil Jakhar takes a jibe at Navjot Singh Sidhu for giving Pargat Singh's rally a miss

Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 17

In his subtle yet crisp style, chairman of the Congress Campaign Committee Sunil Jakhar on Friday took a jibe at PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for not attending a rally and sharing the stage with Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, especially when it was held in the Cantonment constituency of Sidhu’s close aide and minister Pargat Singh.

Jakhar said all this citing the example of how the 32 farmer organisations taking part in the agitation against the Centre over farm laws shunned their differences to achieve a common goal.

He took a long pause after reaching the dais and said he would start his speech only after Pargat Singh and AICC Punjab incharge Harish Chaudhary, who had then been felicitating some BSP workers downstage, would come up.

He then began saying, “A second meeting of the farmer unions ahead of their Delhi protest was underway with the then CM Capt Amarinder Singh which I too attended. All the leaders, including Darshan Pal and Balbir Singh Rajewal, took time for a discussion among themselves and went outside but Joginder Singh Ugrahan kept sitting in. I asked him why he did not join them. He said that he had differences with them but was together on the big common issue.”

Jakhar said, “My point of telling you the long story was that when 32 unions having differences of opinion could come together for a big cause, we cannot handle only two.”

Jakhar clearly indicated towards the ongoing tussle between Sidhu and Channi and the difficulty that the party is facing in bringing them together.

At this, Jakhar went on to congratulate Pargat for at least having made an effort to bring the duo together.

“You talk of team work. You have tried to bring us all here. May be for some reason it did not materialise.”

He then made another point, “I hope that the top leadership realises that the Congress will be able to form the government in Delhi only if we are first able to form a government in Punjab.”

Little before Jakhar’s speech, host of the rally Pargat Singh had announced that Sidhu could not turn up owing to some engagements.