A MEETING convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday with the party’s Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab to introspect on the defeat in the Assembly elections in the state saw almost all of them lashing out at former PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu, AICC in charge Harish Chaudhary, his predecessor Harish Rawat and senior leader Sunil Jakhar and accusing them of having played a major role for the party’s humiliating loss.
Incidentally, while the MPs told Sonia that the four of them have practically “destroyed” the party in the state, they were said to be silent on Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who were believed to have played a major role in the appointment of Sidhu as the PPCC president and handpicking Charanjit Singh Channi as the Chief Minister.
Sonia’s meeting with the MPs came hours after Sidhu resigned as PPCC president.
Sources said the MPs – among them Ravneet Singh Bittu, Manish Tewari, Amar Singh, Santokh Singh Chaudhary and Jasbir Singh Gill – told Sonia that accountability should be fixed for the party’s rout in the state. “Nothing was left unsaid today,” an MP said after the meeting. Sources said Gill accused Chaudhary of wrongdoing in selection of candidates.
“Harish Chaudhary and Ajay Maken have to give a lot of explanation for the rout of Congress in Punjab. Three months before Punjab was a sure win but after the entry of these two in Punjab for ticket distribution (they) have ruined the party in the state. They pocketed notes, Opposition pocketed votes,” Gill had tweeted some days ago. Today, sources said, he reiterated that charge.
Some of the MPs, sources said, argued that former AICC general secretary in charge Harish Rawat had misguided the leadership with regard to the ground situation in Punjab. They said Sidhu’s constant barbs and snipes damaged the party heavily as also Jhakar’s comments that he was not appointed CM because he was a Hindu. On the removal of Amarinder Singh as chief minister, sources said Sonia told the MPs that the leadership had inputs from a large number of MLAs.