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Chandigarh: Punjab assembly elections are near, but the state Congress – which is set to start shortlisting candidates and screening them soon – is still plagued by infighting and protests.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu seem to have developed an uneasy camaraderie after months of differences, but the controversy between other leaders has drawn attention.
The latest case came to light during the cabinet meeting held at Punjab Bhawan on Thursday, when Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa assaulted cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh.
Randhawa reprimanded Rana Gurjit for accusing him of claiming that senior police officers were being transferred in exchange for bribes.
Rana Gurjit also hit out at the deputy CM, who also holds the home portfolio, alleging that he did not fulfill any of his promises, including justice and opening of a Special Task Force (STF) in sacrilege cases. report good In case of drug smuggling worth crores of rupees.
Gurjit also reportedly held Randhawa responsible for not taking action against Sultanpur Lodhi Congress MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, who recently Gurjit’s plan was foiled To hold a public function in his constituency.
The opposition made the most of the performance of the cabinet. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP and party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday tweeted that his government would investigate Rana Gurjit’s claims “after coming to power”.
drama in the doab
Cheema and Rana Gurjeet, who is the MLA from Kapurthala, had a long-standing feud which escalated last week. Gurjit is eyeing a ticket for his son Rana Inder Pratap Singh from Sultanpur Lodhi, but the incumbent Cheema is expected to contest again next year. Navjot Sidhu and Randhawa are both supporting Cheema, but, fearless, Inder Pratap Singh opened its election campaign office In Sultanpur Lodhi on Sunday.
Gurjit is also facing opposition from at least half a dozen Congress leaders from the Doaba region, which includes Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts.
in September, Six leaders wrote a letter to SidhuOpposed the inclusion of Gurjit as a minister in Channi’s cabinet. Cheema and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira were also among those who signed the letter. Khaira, a former Congressman who had joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the 2017 assembly elections, rejoined the Congress in June this year.
Gurjit’s aide Amandeep Singh Gora Gill had opposed his re-entry.
Daggers drawn in Majha
Congress infighting is not limited to Doaba alone. Senior party leaders in Majha region have also drawn the proverbial dagger.
The Majha region includes the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.
Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Singh Bajwa and his brother Fateh Jang Singh Bajwa, who is an MLA from Qadian in Gurdaspur district, have become open to each other.
Pratap, who was recently made the chairman of the election manifesto committee by the party high command, started campaigning in Kadian, clearly indicating that he expected a ticket from his brother’s constituency.
Pratap Bajwa tweeted on Wednesday, “Mission 2022 is on in Kadian.”
Fateh Jung, supported by Sidhu, said he is the party’s candidate from Qadian. “I am the sitting MLA. I am the candidate of the party. Party’s state president Navjot Sidhu addressed a rally organized on 2 (December). At the rally, Sidhu blessed me and indicated (candidate). Pratap Singh Bajwa is a senior leader and has a presence all over Punjab. He can go anywhere and contest elections.
Fateh Jung also did Play Sukhjinder Randhawa to appoint his son-in-law to the office of Advocate General.
“When my son Arjun Pratap Singh Bajwa was appointed as DSP by Captain Amarinder Singh, Randhawa protested tooth and nail saying that if the sons of MLAs are given jobs in the government, then we will have to go to the public. Red-faced will be left in front of. My son left that position. Now Sukhjinder Randhawa is the Home Minister and has misused his position and appointed his son-in-law (Tarunveer Singh Lehal) as Additional Advocate General. Why not make him the Advocate General directly? Won’t the tongue tremble now?” Fateh Jung told media persons last month.
Earlier, Fateh Jung had roped in another Congress leader, Balwinder Singh Kotlabama, for appointment as the chairman of Punjab Genco Limited, a public sector unit. Balwinder Singh is considered close to cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who is the MLA from Fatehgarh Chudiyan.
Fateh Jung had targeted Balwinder Singh for being the brother of Avtar Singh Pannu, a prominent leader of the self-styled, pro-Khalistan US-based group ‘Sikhs for Justice’, which was declared an unlawful association by the Indian government. . Balwinder Singh had claimed that he had nothing to do with his brother now and had not met him for years.
Tript Bajwa, however, supported the appointment of Balwinder Singh, calling him a ‘party loyalist’.
Balwinder Singh’s appointment was also opposed by former Batala MLA Ashwini Sekhri and staunch opponents of Tript Bajwa. Last month, he alleged that Tript Bajwa was joining hands with the Akali Dal. “There are at least 10 constituencies in Punjab where Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa is weakening the Congress candidates and helping the Akali candidate to come forward,” Sekhri had claimed to media persons in Chandigarh on November 12.
Balwinder Singh was removed from the post on 2 December after the opposition targeted the Punjab government over the issue.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Read also: Amarinder, BJP, Congress, AAP, SAD: How repeal of agriculture laws could affect Punjab elections?
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