Less than three years after the Congress came to power in Punjab, its workers on Monday set the alarm bells ringing by claiming that unfulfilled promises was ruining the party’s chances of making a comeback in the next State Assembly elections.
The workers actually “show mirror” to the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar during a workers’ meeting at Jalandhar, that the party is holding as a part of its programme to hold similar gatherings across the State.
During the meeting, first in the series planned by the State party unit, the workers minced no words to speak against their own Government to point that the situation is still the same in the state as it was during SAD-BJP rule.
They pointed at the party’s pre-poll promises of eliminating drugs, creating employment opportunities, improving law and order situation, putting the culprits of sacrilege cases behind bars, among other things, which the Government has failed to fulfill during its three-year rule.
So much so that the workers did not shy away from telling Jakhar about the mounting anger among the people against the Government which would prevent it from staying in power after 2022 State Assembly elections.
Facing revolt within, the State Congress unit has initiated a programme of holding workers’ meeting across the State to know their grievances and problems. The decision came after the murmurs within the party by its MLAs feeling sidetracked in their own Government turned boisterous with one after another coming out in open to speak against their own Government.
At least four Congress MLAs raised voice against the State Government and the bureaucracy for allegedly neglecting the elected representatives and giving more than due importance to the officialdom.
All the four party legislators — Hardyal Singh Kamboj (Rajpura), Rajinder Singh (Samana), Nirmal Singh (Shutrana), and Madan Lal Jalalapur (Ghanaur) — hail from Patiala, the home district of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The four segments are the part of Patiala parliamentary seat from where the Chief Minister’s wife Preneet Kaur is the Lok Sabha MP.
These MLAs had publicly spoken against the district police department and district officials during grievance redressal meeting at Patiala. They even had heated arguments over various matters, including phone recordings and alleged phone tapping by officials of the administration during the meeting on November 20.
Taking a serious view of the simmering discontentment within its party leaders, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar had then called for “feedback” by all the party MLAs. Besides, it was decided to hold workers’ meeting across the state. And the first such meeting was held at Jalandhar on Monday.
During the meeting, Jakhar admitted of delay in carrying out development works but blamed the Centre for the same.