LUDHIANA: Fissures in the Congress were out in the open as five chairmen, vice-chairmen and office-bearers of various boards and corporations associated with the industry were missing from the industry and trade meet held in Ludhiana, presided over by Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and industry minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli and food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, on Wednesday.
While the chairmen of various boards and corporations alleged that they were not invited to the meet, the ministers somewhat justified their “exclusion”.
The “uninvited” Congress leaders came down heavily against the administration, industry department and cabinet ministers. Promising to take up the matter with chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, they warned that the party will have to pay a heavy price in the coming elections.
Speaking to TOI, Amarjit Singh Tikka, chairman of Punjab Medium Industrial Development Board, said, “As far as Congress is concerned, there is one man show in Ludhiana and his group is the one which call the shots. They are on a mission to destroy the party’s prospects in the elections. Me and other chairmen are decades old workers of the party who have been appointed on posts by Rahul Gandhi. For more than four years, we have been making efforts to resolve problems of the industry and we are the local faces of Congress among businessmen.”
Manpreet used an idiom “Hathi ke Panv mei Sab ka Panv”, probably indicating that when ministers are here, then what is the need of the chairmen. Ashu said when the government itself has come to the industrialists, then what is the need of the chairmen.
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