With less than six months left in the 2022 Punjab Assembly election, Capt Amarinder Singh and the Congress party itself are once again caught between political turmoil. Over four state cabinet ministers along with dozens of MLAs have opened a revolt against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
The groups of four ministers and over two dozen MLAs claim that they had lost faith in Capt Amarinder as pre-poll promises have not been fulfilled yet, implying that he should be replaced.
The demand to remove Captain from the chief minister's chair was aired after a meeting on Tuesday at the home of senior state minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa.
Tript Rajinder Bajwa, openly criticized the Punjab CM’s failure in fulfilling poll promises, said that in his opinion CM should be replaced else Congress will not survive. “We are going to Delhi today to meet Sonia Gandhi to speak on this matter”, he said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of five leaders including Pargat Singh, the General Secretary of the Punjab Congress, and four ministers- Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sukh Sarkaria, and Charanjit Singh Channi- have left for Delhi to back the disgruntled MLAs and would try to schedule a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the earliest.
Talking to TrueScoop, MLA Pargat Singh said that the meeting held today was about Punjab’s development issues and unfulfilled poll promises. “From delivering justice to the families of the Kotkapura case to unemployment to inflated electricity bills and drug menace and sand mafia, there are many issues, which the Congress party promised to resolve, the moment they come to power”.
However, it’s been more than four and half years now, nothing concrete has been done so far, Pargat Singh said, adding that the five member delegation will keep the same unfulfilled poll promises issues in front of party high command, seeking their intervention.
Notably, the majority of Congress leaders and MLAs who are demanding that Capt Amarinder Singh should not be the face of Punjab Congress in upcoming elections are those who backed Navjot Sidhu during the scuffle between the two. Sidhu, however, was not a part of the meeting that took place today.
After the meeting, ministers said that the Congress leaders and workers in Punjab are concerned that the Congress' electoral promises have not been fulfilled. The Bargari incident, arrest of drug dealers, power agreement issue, Dalit issues all remains unaddressed.
Though the ministers avoided the questions and didn’t answer if they don’t see Capt Amarinder as CM face, whom they consider the right person. However, their gestures pointed out its Navjot Sidhu, who they see as the CM Candidate for the next elections.
Meanwhile, the last few days have been difficult for Capt Amarinder Singh as two of Sidhu’s advisors were criticising him continuously. Malvinder Singh Mali even launched personal attacks on Capt on social media raising questions on his credibility as CM.