Punjab Congress truce: CM Amarinder meets bête noire Navjot Singh Sidhu; 1st pictures out

As a sign of truce in Punjab Congress, CM Amarinder Singh met newly appointed state president Navjot Singh Sidhu at the Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh on Friday. This assumes significance as Singh had earlier refused to meet Sidhu unless the latter publicly apologises for his "derogatory" social media attacks against him. The two leaders met at a tea party for which the Punjab Chief Minister had invited all MLAs, MPs and senior Congress functionaries.

In a short while, they will move towards the Punjab Congress Bhawan where the new leadership of the state unit shall formally assume charge. While Sidhu replaces Sunil Jakhar, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra have been named as the working presidents of the state unit. This is being perceived as a bid to revamp Congress' image ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls. 

Pictures of Amarinder-Sidhu meeting:

(Images source: ANI)

Sidhu-Amarinder rift

Navjot Singh Sidhu was 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. 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 did not achieve the desired result at the outset 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".

Escalating the row further, 10 Congress MLAs- Harminder Singh Gill, Fateh Bajwa, Gurpreet Singh GP, Kuldip Singh Vaid, Balwinder Singh Laddi, Santokh Singh Bhalaipur, Joginderpal, Jagdev Singh Kamalu, Pirmal Singh Khalsa and Sukhpal Singh Khaira urged the high command not to let down the Punjab CM on July 18. Moreover, they supported Singh's demand that Sidhu should tender a public apology so that the party and government can function in tandem. They opined that Sidhu's public criticism had not only created a rift in the party ranks but also decreased the Congress graph in the last few months.