The slanging match between the Congress leaders, divided between the two power centres — each headed by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Partap Singh Bajwa and Congress Working Committee member Capt Amarinder Singh is far from over.
Even as the party tasted resounding defeat in the recently concluded lok Sabha elections across the country and in the State too, the party leaders are not realising their mistake of standing divided and fighting with the rivals within.
As the party high command has instructed the party leaders against washing their dirty linen in the public, the murmurs of resentment from the party leaders owing allegiance to the two leaders against each other can be heard loud and clear.
After engaging in a war of words over Bajwa’s resignation as PPCC chief, followed by disciplinary notices to two MlAs close to Capt Amarinder, and then questioning authority of party’s disciplinary action committee chairman-Bajwa’s close aide, the latest issue that has emerged between the two group is that of ‘dynasty politics’.
When Bajwa, and some other party leaders criticized the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for perpetuating ‘dynasty politics’ by inducting Harsimrat Badal, the daughter-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, that too after criticising the previous UPA government as “Maa-Bete ki Sarkaar”, Punjab’s former Finance Minister Surinder Singla, Capt Amarinder’s supporter, pointed that wife and brother of Bajwa, a son of a politician, is sitting MlA and PPCC office bearer respectively.
Singla also maintained that the Congress party had “no right” to be against ‘dynastic politics’ as it is the party that itself had promoted it in the country for several decades - something that irked Bajwa’s supporters who inturn questioned Singla’s credentials.
Former MlA Harminder Singh Jassi, besides other Bathinda district leaders, in fact, accused Singla, Bathinda MlA, for being “in league with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal”, and that was why, he defended induction of Harsimrat Kaur Badal in the cabinet by Modi, “who throughout his campaign, had been attacking the Congress on dynastic politics”.
Congress leaders, Bathinda rural district chief Gura Singh Tungwali, and Bathinda urban district president Mohan lal Aggarwal, also pointed out that Singla’s name had surfaced in ludhiana City centre case in which Capt Amarinder Singh was the accused, but he “managed to save himself by arriving at a tacit understanding with Badal”.
The leaders pointed out, “It was as part of this understanding that Singla’s aide Anil Bhola joined Akali Dal before lok Sabha election to support Harsimrat.”
Maintaining that Singla had no moral authority to criticize Bajwa, who had only reminded Modi of his stand on dynastic politics from which he had backtracked and had been giving a relentless fight to the Badals by mobilising party rank and file, the leaders said that it was this sabotage from within by such leaders as reflected in factionalism which had harmed the Congress in the lok Sabha elections.
2014 general elections has witnessed Congress’ one of the worst ever performance in the state with its tally of eight MPs coming down to just three, with infighting emerged as the main reason.