Channi, Sidhu hold talks with AICC leaders in Delhi
CM, Sidhu are keen to expand council of ministers and allocate them portfolios to get cracking on the 18-point agenda
CHANDIGARH: Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, his two deputies and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu were in Delhi on Tuesday to meet the party’s central leaders and discuss the expansion of the state cabinet.
They discussed the names of the probable candidates with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat after having a long consultation with Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni. Channi took oath as the chief minister along with two deputy chief ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni on Monday with less than five months to go for the state elections.
Channi and Sidhu are keen to expand the council of ministers and allocate them portfolios to get cracking on the 18-point agenda and accommodate some of those who were part of the group that took on Capt Amarinder Singh. “The new cabinet will see the induction of a few new faces by keeping out some of those who were part of the Amarinder cabinet and involved in controversies, to give it a fresh look and make a clean break from the previous setup,” a person familiar with
the developments said.
Names doing the rounds The names doing the rounds for inclusion in the state cabinet include Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Pargat Singh, Gurkirat Kotli, Sangat Singh Gilizian and Raj Kumar Verka. Gilzian, who has been seeking due representation for backward classes in the cabinet, had made a personal request to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi when he was in Chandigarh to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the new chief minister and his two deputies on Monday, said sources.
There is speculation that Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Sunder Sham Arora may not find a place in the new team. All three were embroiled in controversies during the Amarinder Singh government. A number of legislators, including former ministers Balbir Singh Sidhu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and MLA Parminder Singh Pinky, were also camping in Delhi.
Another person said that Venugopal and the state team connected with Rahul through video-conferencing for a discussion on the expansion. Channi and Sidhu, however, did not talk to the media or respond to calls.
The chief minister, his deputies and the state chief will fly from Delhi to Amritsar where they will pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and visit the Durgiana Mandir early in the morning. On their way to Chandigarh, they are likely to visit Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Meanwhile, the ALCC made more appointments in the state Congress. Pargat Singh and Yoginder Pal Dhingra have been appointed general secretaries while Gulzar Inder Chahal is the new treasurer.
THE NEW CABINET WILL SEE THE INDUCTION OF A FEW NEW FACES BY KEEPING OUT SOME OF THOSE WHO WERE PART OF THE AMARINDER CABINET AND INVOLVED IN CONTROVERSIES