Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa’s ship shuddering in the rough political seas is not only facing tough waves of opposition from the rival SAD-BJP combine, but is also fighting the fire within that is threatening to sink the vessel.
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has been disposing almost everything Bajwa has been proposing, giving rise of unsubstantiated speculation of a secret pact with the ruling party.
Though Capt Amarinder has dismissed all such speculations as baseless, insiders still apprehend a treaty that will make it easy for his camp to retain the prestigious Patiala seat, while giving away the Bathinda seat to the Badals without much fight.
In any case, insiders believed that Capt Amarinder has everything to gain by reaching an understanding with the rivals. In such an eventuality, he will not only manage to marginalise Bajwa and his camp, but may also find the prosecution going slow in the ludhiana Improvement Trust case in which he is an accused.
What gave rise to these speculations is Capt Amarinder’s opposition to the CBI probe into `6,000 crore drug racket case, coupled with the pat on the back of the investigating officer — Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hardyal Singh Mann — who was blamed, by the main accused and alleged drug lord Jagdish Bhola, for accepting `25 crore as bribe to shield the Akalis — derailing the Congress’ “effective”
campaign.
At a time when Congress had almost coerced the SAD-led Punjab Government to order an independent probe in the drug racket case, Capt Amarinder’s one statement — opposing CBI probe — has put the party on the back foot.
Bajwa, along with other senior party leaders, has all along been demanding to transfer the investigations in the drug racket case to CBI or to a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Capt Amarinder is the only Congress leader who has opposed CBI probe, while all the Opposition parties, including the People’s Party of Punjab, and Aam Aadmi Party have supported it.
“The SAD was hemmed in from all sides after the High Court was moved seeking CBI probe by the Congress leader Jagmeet Brar and one of the accused in the matter Jagjit Singh Chahal, along with Congress’ programme of staging series of protests. It has also been learnt that government was contemplating on the lines of ordering a judicial probe in the matter. But, all went in vain following Capt Amarinder’s statement,” a senior Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity, told The Pioneer.
The issue has apparently infused much prowess in the Congress rank and file providing it with enough ammunition to target the ruling combine in Punjab ahead the crucial 2014 lok Sabha
elections.
Political pundits considered that the Congress would use the issue of drugs to take on the SAD-BJP combine with one of its Minister — Bikram Singh Majithia — named as a kingpin by the main accused, as it could not use corruption as an issue taking into account the series of scams exposed at the national level. Moreover, with parliamentary polls just a few months away, it is time to look for the issues.
Coming in the support of the Akalis opposing CBI probe in the drug racket, the senior Congress leader has snatched away Bajwa’s “possible election issue” against the SAD-BJP Government.
Another thing that indicated at a possible understanding between Capt Amarinder, a former Akali-turned-Congressman, was the timing of the leakage of his “confidential” letter written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi against Bajwa.
Also the permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Capt Amarinder had initially denied writing a damning letter to Sonia Gandhi alleging Bajwa of having links with terrorists and drug mafia before his elevation to the party’s top post in Punjab.
In a volte-face, Capt Amarinder, only recently, admitted that he, in July 2012, had written a letter to the Congress president about Bajwa’s alleged involvement in the drug business — substantiating the theory of likely political understanding with the Akalis.
Capt Amarinder’s attack on Bajwa came at a time when the party’s senior leadership is up in arms against him over the list of office bearers of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).
However, Capt Amarinder has rubbished the rumours regarding reaching ‘political understanding’ with the SAD in opposing a CBI probe into drug trade in Punjab, contrary to his own party’s stand.