After Turmoil in Rajasthan, Fissures Emerge in Punjab Congress
Under these adverse circumstances when Congress is hell-bent to commit a political suicide, the cracks in state Congress units cannot be avoided.
By Rakesh Raman
Although Congress has already become a defunct political outfit, the infighting in Punjab Congress will be the final nail in the coffin of the headless party.
In an ongoing scuffle, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar has demanded a strict action against the party MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo.
Jakhar – who is at daggers drawn with the rebel MPs – has sought their immediate expulsion for “anti-party and anti-government” activities, which amount to gross indiscipline.
In fact, Bajwa and Dullo have been relentlessly attacking their own Congress government headed by chief minister Amarinder Singh in Punjab for the government’s lackluster response in investigating the recent hooch tragedy in which more than 100 people have lost their lives.
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The allegation against Bajwa and Dullo is that they are blaming the Amarinder Singh government publicly instead of discussing the issue internally with the leadership.
Conjectures are also rife that the BJP of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi is trying to poach Bajwa and Dullo like it has done in horse-trading deals in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, although Bajwa has ruled out such a possibility.
Earlier in March, another rebel leader in Punjab Navjot Singh Sidhu – who is also a fierce critic of Amarinder Singh – had launched a YouTube channel christened ‘Jittega Punjab‘ or Punjab will win to highlight Amarinder Singh’s failures in the state.
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It is said that in the absence of any party forum where the rebel leaders could raise their concerns, they decide to discuss the issues openly. For example, Bajwa is flaunting newspaper reports that say Amarinder Singh has refused to take their advice, and the leaders in Delhi – including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi – are so lethargic that they are not taking any interest in the party affairs.
These days, Rahul Gandhi is living in a virtual hibernation and keeps tweeting erratically only to curse PM Modi. And Sonia Gandhi lacks administrative acumen to handle the party which is full of dinosaurs.
Response to Punjab Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/oiRfqa3XaA
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) August 6, 2020
Under these adverse circumstances when Congress is hell-bent to commit a political suicide, the cracks in state Congress units cannot be avoided. Thus, Congress is fulfilling the dream of BJP to have a Congress-mukt India or India without Congress.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications and research reports on different subjects. These publications include the “Covid Health Bulletin” that covers global coronavirus news and views.
