The political storm that had engulfed Punjab Congress appears to have left behind a trail of destruction, with the newly-appointed State party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh still not on the same page and doing little to undertake damage control measures.
Amarinder continues to stick to his initial stand of seeking public apology from Sidhu for his 150 derogatory tweets. Joining the chorus on Tuesday was the senior-most leader Brahm Mohindra.
Mohindra, State Local Government Minister, ruled out any personal meeting with Sidhu till he resolves his issues with the Chief Minister — indicating that the crisis in Punjab Congress is still far from over.
The former cricketer, on the other hand, continued with his tirade to muster support from other MLAs by holding meetings, including those who have virtually been swearing loyalty to Amarinder.
The effect of the differences is expected to be felt with full force as the party has been asked to organise a “protest march” against the “Peagasus snoopgate” in all State units on July 22, and holding a Press briefing a day before (on July 21).
As per the directions by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), all the Pradesh Congress Committees have been asked to hold a “protest march to Raj Bhavans” in their respective States on Thursday, involving senior leaders, MLAs, and party functionaries demanding the Supreme Court-monitored judicial enquiry on “Peagasus Phone Hack Scandal”.
Even as Sidhu is yet to officially take over the charge of the State party unit after his appointment on July 18, this will be the first party programme under his leadership. The Sidhu camp would take every possible step to make it a success by ensuring maximum participation by the party leaders, even as the Amarinder camp is adamant on resolving the issues with the CM first.
The Chief Minister is yet to officially congratulate the new PPCC chief, as he had already made it clear that he would meet Sidhu only after his “public apology” - a demand turned down by the Sidhu camp.
Olympian and Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantt Pargat Singh has, in fact, slammed the Chief Minister saying that if somebody has to apologize, it is Amarinder “as he has failed to fulfill the promises made to the people”
Already, Cabinet Minister and once “trouble-shooter” for Amarinder,Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa has advised the Chief Minister to “forget Sidhu’s tweets”, just the way he had forget Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa’s letters (he had written to the party high command against the Chief Minister and his Government).
Also, Ghanaur MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur advised the Chief Minister to “forgive Sidhu as the Maharaja has a big heart”, while pointing that it was time to work together.
Notably, Amarinder had categorically told general secretary in-charge of Punjab party affairs Harish Rawat that he would not meet Sidhu till he tenders a public apology for his derogatory remarks against him.
“Reports of @sherryontop seeking time to meet @capt_amarinder are totally false. No time has been sought whatsoever. No change in stance... CM won’t meet #NavjotSinghSidhu till he publicly apologises for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him (sic),” tweeted Chief Minister’s media adviser Raveen Thukral on Tuesday.
Coming in Chief Minister’s support, Brahm Mohindra said that the party high-command’s decision to appoint Sidhu as the state Congress chief is welcome, “however, I will not meet him (Sidhu) till he meets the Chief Minister and resolves his issues with him”.
Mohindra, who represents Patiala rural segment, said Amarinder is the leader of the Congress Legislative Party and he is duty-bound to follow him.
Besides being the CLP leader, the Chief Minister also heads the Cabinet of which he is a part, the senior Congress leader said, making it clear that unless Sidhu sorts out all issues with Singh, he will not meet him personally.
“We have a collective responsibility and hence, I would refrain from meeting the newly-appointed (party) president till issues between him and the Chief Minister are resolved,” said Mohindra, whose remarks are first by any Minister after Sidhu was elevated to the party’s apex post.
Besides Mohindra, Balbir Singh Sidhu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot had met the Chief Minister. On the other hand, several ministers, including Tript Bajwa, Charanjit Singh Channi, Razia Sultana, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Gurpreet Singh Kangar and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have been supporting Sidhu.
Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal had also congratulated Sidhu on becoming the PPCC president, but Sidhu is yet to meet him. Available information suggests that some senior leaders, including party affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, have been making efforts to mend the bridges between the two warring leaders. In fact, some leaders in Amarinder’s camp are also in favour of a meeting between the two as they fear that differences between them would damage the party in the ensuing 2022 Assembly elections.