'Amarinder Singh & Navjot Sidhu will work together': Punjab Congress hints at truce

While the tussle between Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh is yet to reach any logical conclusion, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat said that they will work 'together'. Speaking to the media, he underlined that Captain Amarinder Singh has been the Chief Minister of the state for over 4.5 years now, and the party would go to the 2022 assembly polls under his leadership. Hinting that Navjot Singh Sidhu may get the position of chief of the Punjab unit of Congress, he added that a 'formula' has been framed around the same. 

It is pertinent to note here that a meeting is underway at Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Randhawa’s residence. The meeting, which has in attendance two Ministers and three Members of the Legislative Assembly, are discussing Navjot Singh Sidhu's appointment as the Punjab Congress chief, as per sources. 

Infighting in Congress' Punjab unit 

Navjot Singh Sidhu has been repeatedly attacking the state government and the Punjab CM over the purported delayed justice in the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and the subsequent police firing incident. Though Singh and Sidhu attempted to resolve their differences over tea on March 17, 2021, a positive outcome proved to be elusive. The relationship took a turn for the worse after the Punjab & Haryana HC quashed the SIT probe into the firing cases on April 9. 

Breaking his silence on Sidhu's attacks, Singh on April 27 dared him to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls and predicted that he will lose his deposit. Furthermore, he contended that Sidhu wanted to join some other party. In order to end factionalism in the party's Punjab unit, Congress president Sonia Gandhi formed a committee comprising Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, ex-Delhi MP JP Agarwal, and AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat on May 28.

Since the last month, the panel has met multiple stakeholders including MLAs, Ministers and the CM to ascertain their views ahead of the 2022 Assembly election. However, the attempts to mollify him seem to have failed for the time being as he hit out at the Punjab government in a series of interviews on June 20. In a veiled dig at Amarinder Singh and the Badals, he hit out at "two powerful families" whom he accused of controlling Punjab and overriding the interests of the state for their vested interests. After meeting Sonia Gandhi on July 6, Singh said, “Whatever the Congress President decides on Punjab, we will accept it".