The Congress high command hasn’t taken any decision yet on the complaints by a section led by cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu against State Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. A panel headed by senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge met the Chief Minister on Friday in an effort to address the crisis within the State unit.

Sidhu apparently has laid claim to either the post of Deputy Chief Minister or PCC president, but Singh has refused to take him back into the Cabinet.

The panel which also includes AICC secretary general in-charge for Punjab Harish Rawat and former MP JP Aggarwal had also met Sidhu, party MPs, MLAs and former PCC chiefs before meeting Singh.

While the Congress high command does not want to risk losing Sidhu from its fold, it also does not want to question Singh’s authority ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections as he has consolidated his position after the disunity in the Opposition camp and his support to the farmers’ protests against the Centre.

There are reports that both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi want Singh to be more considerate to the demands of the dissidents.

BJP criticism

The BJP took a swipe at the Congress. “Today, the entire Congress party and the government of Punjab are in Delhi. Who will look after Punjab? Ignoring Punjab for their internal fight. This is a big sin of Congress,” Union minister Prakash Javadekar said. “I would suggest to Rahul that instead of giving lectures to others, he should first think how works can be done properly in his State,” he added.

“The State government is also not paying adequate attention to testing and other measures that need to be taken to contain the spread. For the last six months, an internal fight has been going on within the Congress in Punjab,” he said.

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