In charge of the Punjab Congress, Harish Rawat is meeting Rahul Gandhi today, a day after Navjot Sidhu warned that denying him decision-making autonomy would be “disastrous” for the party. The warning came after Malwinder Mali, one of Mr Sidhu’s advisors, resigned after the party threatened to fire him for his inflammatory statements if Mr Sidhu did not remove him.
Mr Rawat met with Sonia Gandhi yesterday to inform her of current difficulties in the Punjab Congress, particularly newly appointed Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Sindhu’s statements and those of his aides. In his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, Mr Rawat is expected to address the issue. According to reports, Harish Rawat has requested the party to relieve him of his Punjab position, citing the upcoming Uttarakhand poll. Some renegade MLAs recently met Mr Rawat from the Punjab Congress in Dehradun.
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Mr Rawat played down Navjot Sidhu’s statements, saying: “There’s nothing like that; they’re all kind. They are well-versed in the situation. Everyone has a unique way of speaking; calling it a revolt would be inaccurate.” Navjot Sidhu’s footage, in which he appears to be warning the party, was tweeted by Manish Tewari, a Congress MP from Punjab. Mr Tewari captioned the Navjot Sidhu video, “Even if we sigh, we become notorious; even if they kill, there is no discussion.”
The Congress has declared that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh would lead the party in the polls next year, despite increasing calls for him to be ousted after he criticised Navjot Sidhu’s advisers for their statements on Pakistan and Kashmir.
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“We will run in the Punjab elections in 2022 under Captain Amarinder Singh’s leadership,” Mr Rawat said earlier this week. The renewed infighting shows that the state party’s crisis, which began earlier this year, is far from finished. “Of course, he started it, it’s his advisers,” state leader Praneet Kaur said when asked whether she believes Mr Sidhu is to blame for the party’s turmoil.
