White flag of peace, handed over by the Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his recent visit in the city, is still not fluttering in the Punjab Congress camp.

A day after the black flags were shown to State party chief Partap Singh Bajwa in ludhiana, he claimed that “external and internal forces” were still working against him.Bajwa stopped just short of naming his bête noire and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for the banner of revolt being raised against him.

The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president minced no words to say that “so many forces are working against me…internal or external…they have trouble with our working”.Hinting at the smear campaign being started against him by his opponents, both “inside and outside the party”, he said that the “forces” are working overnight against me and a “concentrated attack is going against me”.

Despite repeatedly asking him regarding the names of the “forces” working against him, Bajwa quipped, “I would name any one only if they are anonymous…you understand everything…I need not name anyone.”

Bajwa maintained that every time he started any campaign against the government or any work within the party, he was being made the centre of attack by his opponents.“Only a handful of people…only 12…protested against me in ludhiana yesterday…while the newspapers in Delhi blew it out of proportion….you know who are these people,” Bajwa told the reporters.

“When I started drug campaign against state government, the allegations of land grab were made against me and a complete campaign was being run to malign my image…similarly this time, when I have started galvanizing party cadre from the bottom level, they have come up with new allegations of my links with criminals,” he said.

He laid blame on the Akali Dal for Faridkot police chief allegations for Bajwa having links with goons saying that the ruing party did not want Congress to start any campaign and work in Punjab.Even as Bajwa refused to name any leader, within the party, who’s working against him, the former MP said that it is up to the party high command to deal with the situation.

The young Gandhi scion, Rahul, when visited the city recently, categorically asked the disgruntled leaders to “fall in line” or else get prepared to sit in opposition once again after 2017 assembly polls in the state.Notwithstanding, the anti-Bajwa or out-Bajwa campaign, that was being run by the senior party leadership at the state level, has now shifted its base to the block level. During Bajwa’s four-day stay in ludhiana, everyday protests were held against him, demanding his removal from PPCC chief’s post.Bajwa, on the other hand, maintained that after Rahul’s visit and his word of caution, “no mainstream leader has made any statement” against him.