In yet another attempt to resolve the ongoing infighting within party’s Punjab unit, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has decided to hold a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) of Punjab on September 18.
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The decision comes days after close to 40 MLAs wrote to the party’s central leadership against Chief Minister Captain (Retd) Amarinder Singh, alleging that hardly anything was being done towards fulfilment of the 18-point programme issued by the party high command. They had demanded a meeting of the CLP.
Party insiders said the meeting was being seen as an attempt to corner the Chief Minister and pressurise the central leadership for changing the Chief Minister ahead of the Assembly poll.
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“The AICC has received a representation from a large number of MLAs from the Congress party, requesting to immediately convene a meeting of the CLP of Punjab. Accordingly, a meeting of the CLP has been convened at 5.00 p.m. on 18th September at Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee office,” All India Congress Committee in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat said in a tweet.
“AICC directs the PPCC to facilitate this meeting. All Congress MLAs of Punjab are requested to kindly attend this meeting,” he added.
Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu later tweeted “As per the AICC directive, CLP meeting has been convened at @INCPunjab PPCC Office, Chandigarh on 18 September 2021 (Saturday) 5 PM.”
Among those who have raised the baton against Capt. Amarinder are four Ministers — Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Charanjit Channi — besides MLAs, expressing lack of faith in the leadership of the Chief Minister in fulfilling the party’s 2017 Assembly election promises.
Amid a power tussle between Capt. Amarinder and Mr. Sidhu, the AICC on July 18 appointed Mr. Sidhu as president of the PPCC in an apparent attempt to resolve the crisis. Capt. Amarinder and Mr. Sidhu have been at at loggerheads since the 2019 Lok Sabha poll.
