Punjab Chief Minister Capt. (retd) Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said he would accept any decision taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi with regard to changes in the party in Punjab and the State government. He was speaking after meeting Ms. Gandhi in a effort to end the factionalism in the State unit.
The meeting that lasted for about 90 minutes, comes after a month long exercise to put an end to the public war of words between the Chief Minister and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu. Mr Sidhu had resigned from Capt. Amarinder’s cabinet over several differences including handling of the 2015 sacrilege issue.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, who headed the three-member panel of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to resolve the factionalism in Punjab, was present at the meeting that is said to have discussed the political situation as well as governance issues in the State.
Capt. Amarinder’s meeting with the Congress chief comes after Mr. Sidhu met former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Delhi last week.
While Ms Vadra is said to have visited Ms. Gandhi before her meeting with Capt Amarinder, Mr. Gandhi is said to have been part of the meeting. There was, however, no official word about it.
“Whatever decision the Congress president takes, we will implement it in Punjab. The decisions taken by Congress chief on anything — the party and the government — will be acceptable,” Captain Amarinder told reporters.
The Chief Minister said the party was geared up for the 2022 Assembly polls and maintained that he meets the Congress president whenever he is in Delhi and Tuesday’s meet was one such meet.
The meeting, however, assumes significance as the party high command is all set to revamp of the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) as well as carry out a reshuffle in the State government to go into the election with a new look government and party organisation.
After talking to a cross-section of party leaders, the three member AICC panel had given 18 suggestions to the party chief including “suitably accommodating” Mr Sidhu.
The Chief Minister is said to be opposed to Mr Sidhu becoming the PCC chief and wants the PCC to be headed by Hindu community leader and not by another Jat Sikh since the government is headed by one.
There is also talk about appointing two Deputy Chief Ministers including one from the Dalit community to send a strong political signal to the community that make up a sizeable part of the electorate in the State.
