The decision was taken during a meeting at minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa’s residence. Five ministers and Congress general secretary in charge of PCCC Pargat Singh will leave for Delhi immediately to meet AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.
The fissures within the Punjab Congress came out in the open on Tuesday as 31 legislators and half a dozen ex-MLAs gathered at cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa’s residence and decided to urge the high command to replace Amarinder Singh as the chief minister, saying that the party’s leaders in the state have “lost confidence in him”.
PCCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu was not a part of the meeting.
Talking to media later, state minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that the leaders reached a consensus that six members of the party, including five ministers and Congress general secretary in charge of PCCC Pargat Singh will leave for Delhi immediately to meet AICC chief Sonia Gandhi.
Besides Channi, the four other ministers who will be part of the team are Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Bajwa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria.
“We will leave for Delhi and come back only after meeting Gandhi. The MLAs have lost confidence in the CM and the way he is working. We are going to seek his replacement,” Channi said.
Pargat Singh said a consensus was reached in the meeting that the MLAs were not satisfied with the functioning of the CM and hence they would clearly communicate the sentiment to Sonia Gandhi.
Bajwa, who hosted the meeting, said, “We have no option but to seek his replacement. No work has been done and no promises fulfilled. Therefore, we will tell the high command that the CM has lost trust of the people.”
Bajwa claimed that 46 MLAs had attended his meeting and said many others were also in the rebel camp but did not want to attend such a meeting openly.
He also said that they do not have an appointment with Gandhi in Delhi, but will take the issue to the general secretary in charge and press upon him the need to organise a meeting.
Bajwa also said that they have not invited Sidhu. “We had just informed him yesterday that there will be a meeting. But we did not tell him about the agenda. Nor did we ask him to attend it. We will brief him now about the proceedings of the meeting,” he said.
The Congress leaders, who rebelled against the CM, have been preparing to call a meeting of legislators in the presence of Sidhu and pass a resolution stating that they had lost confidence in Amarinder Singh, sources said.
The decision was taken in a meeting in presence of Sidhu a few days ago. But the PCCC chief did not attend the meeting at Bajwa’s residence.
