Punjab Congress leaders seek Channi as state chief; Randhawa meets Amit Shah

CRacks in the Punjab united states congress widened on fri after a plane section of leaders, including electric current and past times legislators, met at the house of former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi demanding that he be made the state party chief and the party’s central leadership rethink an organisational reshuffle it announced earlier this week .Parallelly, a meeting between Gurdaspur Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi triggered widespread speculation, though both Randhawa and national-level Congress leaders said it was over security issues. Assembly elections are due in the Aam Aadmi Party-ruled state next year.Randhawa and Channi, currently the MP from Jalandhar, were made chairs of two of the new election-related committees announced by the party high command on Wednesday.ALSO READ | Punjab Congress dissent erupts over AICC list; Channi camp holds show of strengthBut the reshuffle retained Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president and Partap Singh Bajwa as the leader of opposition.Channi camp seeks leadership changeOn Friday, around 60 Congress leaders, including four sitting MLAs, 18 former MLAs and former ministers, gathered Channi’s residence in Chamkaur Sahib.The four-hour meeting, ended with a unanimous demand that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) reconsider its recent organisational appointments, particularly the decision to keep Warring, leaders who were present said.Addressing reporters after the meeting, senior MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa rejected suggestions of a rebellion but acknowledged resentment within the party.“Everyone discussed how to bring the Congress back to power. We have requested Channi to seek time from the high command so that the sentiments of Punjab workers can be conveyed. We have no issue with the high command, but the recent decision should be reviewed in the interest of the party,” he said.“All is not well in the Punjab Congress. Workers want Channi to lead because he is the mass leader who can bring the Congress back to power. Under Raja Warring, the party cannot return to power,” former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur said.Channi, however, refrained from making any public statement after the meeting. Later, in a post on social media platform X, he said: “Congress leaders called on me at my residence and urged me to present the sentiments and aspirations of the people of Punjab before the high command.”Randhawa-Shah meeting sparks speculationEarlier in the day, Randhawa triggered speculation within party circles after meeting Shah at Kartavya Bhawan in New Delhi. But he rejected suggestions that the meeting had any political significance, saying the interaction had been scheduled in advance to discuss Punjab’s deteriorating law and order situation.ALSO READ | Punjab Congress rejig fails to impress, leaders mum as discontent surfacesThe former deputy chief minister said he had written to the Prime Minister on June 4, with a copy marked to the Union home minister, expressing concern over the worsening security situation in the border state. According to him, Friday’s meeting was a continuation of that correspondence and focused exclusively on security issues.Senior Congress leaders too played down the meeting.“Nothing is there. It was regarding his son’s security issue. You people speculate. But there is no issue for us,” Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told reporters.Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also defended Randhawa, saying it was natural for him to meet the Union home minister over security concerns.