With the differences between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu rising again, the Congress leadership is struggling to find a clear resolution.
The row further escalated with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh writing an anguished letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi as the countdown to a final decision on the vexed issue began after Navjot Singh Sidhu met Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and the party in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat earlier in the day.
In his letter, Singh is learnt to have expressed his reservation over the possible appointment of Sidhu as the state party chief, saying it can adversely impact the party's prospects in the polls. Singh has raised the issue of "ignoring the old guard".
2015 sacrilege incidents
Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh over the alleged delay in justice in the 2015 sacrilege and subsequent police firing incidents.
The incidents of desecration of a religious text and subsequent police firing had taken place in Faridkot in 2015 when the SAD-BJP government was in power.
A 'bir' (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib was stolen from a Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara in Faridkot on June 1, 2015. Thereafter, hand-written sacrilegious posters were put up in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on September 25 that year and then torn pages of the holy book were found at Bargari on October 12, 2015, in Faridkot.
Two persons were killed in police firing at anti-sacrilege protesters at Behbal Kalan in 2015.
Sidhu, a former BJP MP who had joined the Congress ahead of the 2017 assembly polls, has been critical of the chief minister after the Punjab and Haryana High Court in April quashed a probe into the 2015 firing case.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had slammed Sidhu for continuously attacking him over the sacrilege issue and described his outbursts as "total indiscipline".
Sidhu resigns from Punjab Cabinet
Sidhu resigned from the Punjab cabinet after he was divested of the local bodies portfolio in 2019.
The chief minister accepted Sidhu's resignation at a time when there was speculation that the Congress high-command intervened to resolve the issue between the leaders.
The tension between Singh and Sidhu had been simmering for almost a year and became public after the chief minister disapproved of Sidhu hugging the Pakistani army chief during a visit there in 2018. The chief minister had asked Sidhu to reconsider his decision to visit Pakistan for the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor.
Later, after his portfolio was changed, an upset Sidhu had said his department was being "singled out publicly".
The chief minister then blamed Sidhu for "inept handling" of the Local Government Department, saying it resulted in Congress's "poor performance" in urban areas in Lok Sabha polls.
Sidhu also did not find support in the cabinet whenever he suggested policy reforms.
The tussle between both the leaders for one-upmanship continued.
'Pact with Akalis'
Singh had taken umbrage at Sidhu's "friendly match" jibe at him during electioneering in Bathinda on May 17 and that prompted him to say, "Perhaps he (Sidhu) is ambitious and wants to be the chief minister.” Sidhu apparently referred to Singh having a secret pact with the Akalis.
Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur had blamed the chief minister for denial of party ticket to her for Chandigarh seat.
In latest development, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat flew down to meet Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu called on state party chief Sunil Jakhar on Saturday, a morning of hectic activity in the riven-with-internal-strife Punjab Congress.
It assumes significance amid reports of likely revamping of the Punjab Congress unit and cabinet reshuffle. There are also media reports that Sidhu is likely to be announced as the Punjab Congress chief by the party high command. There is also talk of appointing two working presidents—a Dalit and a Hindu face.
(With PTI inputs)
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