AICC gen secy Rawats reported remarks on Sidhu baffling Jakhar
Chandigarh Sep 20 PTI Hours before the oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab chief minister Congress leader Sunil Jakhar on Monday questioned AICC general secretary Harish Rawats reported statement that the upcoming state elections would be fought under the leadership of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu Jakhar who is also the former Punjab Congress chief dubbed Rawats statement as baffling saying it is likely to undermine the authority of the chief minister On the swearing-in day of Sh Charnjitchanni as chief minister Mr Rawats statement that elections will be fought under Sidhu is baffling Its likely to undermine CMs authority but also negate the very raison dtre of his selection for this position he said in a tweet Channi was on Monday sworn in as chief minister of Punjab making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and O P Soni both outgoing ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh cabinet were also administered oath of office and secrecy by the Punjab governor They will be designated as deputy chief ministers Rawat had reportedly said that the Punjab Assembly polls next year will be fought under Sidhu Jakhar was one of the frontrunners for the post of Congress Legislative Party leader after Amarinder Singh was nudged into quitting ostensibly over hisfailure to fulfil the promises made by the party in the 2017 assembly polls However the Congress finally picked Channi for the post and it was learnt that Sidhu backed it Speaking to reporters Jakhar said Rawat who is a senior leader and has a lot of political experience could have avoided giving such a statement He Rawat had earlier made a statement that the 2022 elections will be fought under the leadership of Sonia ji and Rahul ji Later another statement was given by him that polls will be fought under Capt Sahabs Amarinder Singh leadership When Channi had not even taken oath such a statement should have been avoided Jakhar said adding such statements create doubt and show weakness said Jakhar He said senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala had on Monday stated that the partys face for the 2022 polls will be both Channi and Sidhu Jakhar however said he was happy that the party high command had handled the situation Replying to a question the Congress leader said he was surprised when he heard from the media that his name was also in contention for the post of CLP leader when he was not even a member of the Punjab Assembly Backing the partys choice Channi Jakhar said that the Congress high command and Rahul Gandhi had made the right decision Hitting out at the SAD president he said Sukhbir Singh Badal is now saying if his party comes to power he will make a Dalit deputy chief minister But when his government was in power he kept the post of deputy CM for himself Meanwhile reacting to Jakhars tweet BJP leader Amit Malviya termed it a huge insult to the Dalit community This is a huge insult to the entire Dalit community if Charanjit Singh Channi has been made the CM only to hold the seat for Navjot Singh Sidhu the chosen Gandhi family loyalist This completely undermines the Dalit empowerment narrative being peddled by the Congress Shame said Malviya in a tweet PTI CHSSUN VSD AAR AAR
Chandigarh Sep 20 PTI Hours before the oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab chief minister Congress leader Sunil Jakhar on Monday questioned AICC general secretary Harish Rawats reported statement that the upcoming state elections would be fought under the leadership of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu Jakhar who is also the former Punjab Congress chief dubbed Rawats statement as baffling saying it is likely to undermine the authority of the chief minister On the swearing-in day of Sh Charnjitchanni as chief minister Mr Rawats statement that elections will be fought under Sidhu is baffling Its likely to undermine CMs authority but also negate the very raison dtre of his selection for this position he said in a tweet Channi was on Monday sworn in as chief minister of Punjab making him the first Dalit to hold the top post in the state Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and O P Soni both outgoing ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh cabinet were also administered oath of office and secrecy by the Punjab governor They will be designated as deputy chief ministers Rawat had reportedly said that the Punjab Assembly polls next year will be fought under Sidhu Jakhar was one of the frontrunners for the post of Congress Legislative Party leader after Amarinder Singh was nudged into quitting ostensibly over hisfailure to fulfil the promises made by the party in the 2017 assembly polls However the Congress finally picked Channi for the post and it was learnt that Sidhu backed it Speaking to reporters Jakhar said Rawat who is a senior leader and has a lot of political experience could have avoided giving such a statement He Rawat had earlier made a statement that the 2022 elections will be fought under the leadership of Sonia ji and Rahul ji Later another statement was given by him that polls will be fought under Capt Sahabs Amarinder Singh leadership When Channi had not even taken oath such a statement should have been avoided Jakhar said adding such statements create doubt and show weakness said Jakhar He said senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala had on Monday stated that the partys face for the 2022 polls will be both Channi and Sidhu Jakhar however said he was happy that the party high command had handled the situation Replying to a question the Congress leader said he was surprised when he heard from the media that his name was also in contention for the post of CLP leader when he was not even a member of the Punjab Assembly Backing the partys choice Channi Jakhar said that the Congress high command and Rahul Gandhi had made the right decision Hitting out at the SAD president he said Sukhbir Singh Badal is now saying if his party comes to power he will make a Dalit deputy chief minister But when his government was in power he kept the post of deputy CM for himself Meanwhile reacting to Jakhars tweet BJP leader Amit Malviya termed it a huge insult to the Dalit community This is a huge insult to the entire Dalit community if Charanjit Singh Channi has been made the CM only to hold the seat for Navjot Singh Sidhu the chosen Gandhi family loyalist This completely undermines the Dalit empowerment narrative being peddled by the Congress Shame said Malviya in a tweet PTI CHSSUN VSD AAR AAR
