Sidhu skips Warring’s maiden Amritsar visit as Punjab Cong chief
AMRITSAR: : Former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu skipped a meeting held by Amarinder Singh Raja Warring during his maiden visit to Amritsar as the state Congress chief.
However, Sidhu along with his loyalists, including former MLAS Navtej Singh Cheema and Ashwani Sekhri, visited Amrik Singh Dhillon at his residence in Samrala on Friday and inquired about his well-being. Later, he took stock of the Machhiwara grain market.
During the meeting, Warring assured that the party will come to power in the state as soon as the internal frictions of the party get fixed, adding that these things should not be publicised.
“We faced a major loss and were toppled out of government (due to factions within the party). I want to say that things should be kept within the Congress family and not be publicised. We’ll return to power as soon as we fix these things,” Raja told media persons here.
Earlier on Monday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Warring to strengthen the party’s organisation in the state.
As the Congress Disciplinary Committee sends notices to former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar for his public conduct against the party lines in recent times, Warring refused to comment on it and said the notice is for him to respond to.
The state Congress chief on Friday met Amritsar-based Congress leaders, including former deputy chief minister OP Soni and former ministers Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Raj Kumar Verka. Accompanied by the state working president, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and former Zira MLA Kulbir Singh Zira, he visited the residences of prominent party leaders. He met Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Harminder Singh Gill, Rajkanwalpreet Pal Singh Lucky, Dinesh Bassi, Bhagwantpal Singh Sachar, Navdeep Singh Goldy, Ashwani Pappu, Harpartap Singh Ajnala, Jugal Kishore Sharma and Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala. He addressed party councillors. Prior to this, he along with CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.