Sonia Gandhi summons Amarinder & Sidhu on June 20 for discussion on Punjab crisis: Sources

Even as the turmoil in the Congress' Punjab unit rages, party president Sonia Gandhi has summoned senior leaders from the state to Delhi on June 20, sources told Republic TV. Earlier on June 11, the three-member committee formed by her comprising Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, ex-Delhi MP JP Agarwal, and AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat had submitted its report. Constituted on May 28 in the wake of the increasing rift between the Navjot Singh Sidhu and the Amarinder Singh factions, the panel met all stakeholders to ascertain their views ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

As per sources, the Rae Bareli MP will take a decision only after personally interacting with leaders such as the Punjab CM, MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa. The meeting shall be held in Delhi and other Cabinet Ministers will also meet Sonia Gandhi. While Amarinder Singh is likely to remain the CM, Rawat and Jakhar might be replaced. 

The rift between Sidhu and Amarinder Singh

While Navjot Sidhu has continued to be an MLA after resigning from the Cabinet in July 2019, he maintained a distance from party activities. Moreover, he has been repeatedly attacking the state government and the Punjab CM over the purported delay in 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 the cricketer-turned-politician wanted to join some other party.

Ruling out the possibility of replacing Sunil Jakhar as the Punjab Congress president, the CM asserted that he would oppose the suggestion of giving the top post to Sidhu. Additionally, he also dismissed the claim of the ex-BJP MP on the Deputy CM's position. In another development, the cricketer-turned-politician has dared Amarinder Singh to take action amid speculation that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau is investigating some allegations against him and his aides.