Punjab CM Amarinder Singh meets Sonia amid fresh attack by Sidhu

As the internal fight in Punjab Congress appears to be headed down the Rajasthan route, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh rushed to Delhi and held a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi with no end in sight in his row with Navjot Singh Sidhu, who again raised questions over the party government over the action against the drug mafia and threatened to bring a resolution in Assembly for making the reports public.

"Met @INCIndia president #SoniaGandhi ji in Delhi this evening to discuss various state related issues. Spent an extremely satisfying one hour with her.’: @capt_amarinder," Singh said according to a tweet by the Chief Minister's media advisor.

Singh met Gandhi for the first time after the party high command named Sidhu as PPCC chief, ignoring the Chief Minister's initial objections. The meeting took place ahead of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle in the state in which Sidhu is keen to accommodate people close to him. Singh is learnt to have discussed potential candidates to be inducted after the reshuffle and also the political situation playing out in Punjab seven months before the polls.

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Hours before Singh's meeting with Gandhi, Sidhu tweeted "The Congress Worker - My Inspiration … The only Instrument of Triumph" sharing a video clip of his meeting with Congress workers in Moga and Faridkot on August 5.

The Chief Minister is learnt to be unhappy about Sidhu's continued attacks on the government headed by him and hence, the issues of progress made on 18 issues pointed by Mallikarjun Kharge, are also believed to have been discussed.

At the height of Singh and Sidhu's war of words, a three-member panel headed by Kharge with AICC general secretary for Punjab Harish Rawat and Delhi M P J P Agrawal, had met all Congress leaders from Punjab and come out with an 18-point agenda to be acted upon, which included taking action against the drug mafia, transport mafia and those involved in the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib.

On Monday Sidhu posted a series of tweets pointing out that he had held a press conference in 2018 asking the state government to immediately act upon the information shared by STF with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

"After 2.5 years of delay, how much more the People of Punjab should wait ? What investigation had Punjab Police done ? What action had Punjab government has taken ? Must be brought into public domain. Since submission of reports, what further action did the state take in 2.5 years ? Govt must make itself accountable to the Public with complete transparency !! Punishing culprits behind Drug trade is Congress’s priority under 18-Point Agenda... . If further delayed will bring resolution in Punjab Vidhan Sabha for making the Reports Public," Sidhu tweeted.

The Chief Minister has been maintaining that his government has already implemented several steps from the 18-point agenda given by the Congress high command. Singh also says that his government had fulfilled 93 per cent of the party's promises made in the election manifesto.