News Analysis India

Tag: Punjab Politics

  • Charanjit Singh Channi takes oath as Punjab CM, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni sworn in as deputies

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi was on Monday sworn in as chief minister of Punjab.

    He is the first Dalit to hold this post in the state.

    Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit administered oath to Channi at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhawan here.

    ALSO READ | Harish Rawat’s reported remarks on Sidhu ‘baffling’, can ‘undermine’ new Punjab CM’s authority: Sunil Jakhar

    Channi took oath in Punjabi.

    Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni were also sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers of Punjab.

    Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa & OP Soni were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers of Punjab#Pb @Newindianxpress, @TheMornStandard, @gsvasu_TNIE, @khogensingh1
    — Harpreet Singh Bajwa (@Harpreet_TNIE) September 20, 2021
    The Congress on Sunday picked Channi as chief minister of Punjab after Amarinder Singh resigned from the post.

  • Charanjit Singh Channi to take oath as Punjab CM shortly, Rahul Gandhi will attend ceremony

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will attend the oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as chief minister of Punjab on Monday, party sources said.

    Channi, who is set to take oath at 11 am, paid obeisance at a gurdwara in Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district on Monday morning.

    He will be the first Dalit to hold the post in the state.

    The Congress on Sunday picked Channi as the next chief minister of Punjab.

    Charanjit Singh Channi who was elected Congress Legislature Party leader will take oath at 11 am, ,Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to attend the oath taking ceremony#Pb @Newindianxpress, @TheMornStandard, @gsvasu_TNIE, @khogensingh1
    — Harpreet Singh Bajwa (@Harpreet_TNIE) September 20, 2021
    After having picked Channi as the next chief minister of Punjab, the Congress is likely to pick two senior leaders from the state as Deputy CMs.

    ALSO READ | Charanjit Singh Channi’s CM ascension: Bid to draw vote banks that drifted away over the years

    A tweet from senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal, who is AICC treasurer, revealed the names of two senior leaders and outgoing ministers in the previous Amarinder Singh’s cabinet — Brahm Mohindra and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa — as the party’s choice for the Deputy chief minister’s posts.

    While Mohindra is the Hindu face of the party, Randhawa is the Jat face.

    Mohindra was considered a close confidant of former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

    “Heartiest congratulations to @Charanjit channi for elevation as#PunjabCM and@Brahm Mohindra & @Sukhjinder INC as Dy CMs. Best wishes for their grand success in the services of Punjab under the leadership of Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Sh @ Rahul Gandhi,” Bansal, a former MP from Chandigarh, tweeted.

    Channi on Sunday had met Governor Banwarilal Purohit to stake claim to the top job in the poll-bound state soon after being elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

    Amarinder Singh was nudged into quitting ostensibly over his “failure” to fulfil the promises made by the party in the 2017 assembly polls.

  • Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisor Mustafa targets Amarinder Singh for calling PPCC chief ‘anti-national’

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu’s strategic advisor Mohd Mustafa Sunday attacked former chief minister Amarinder Singh for calling Sidhu “anti-national”.

    Mustafa, a former IPS officer, also accused Amarinder Singh of targeting the Gandhi family, and said he is in possession of “irrefutable proofs” of wrongdoings by the former chief minister.

    Mustafa’s reaction came a day after Amarinder Singh resigned as chief minister and launched a no-holds-barred attack against Sidhu, calling him “anti-national”, “dangerous” and a “total disaster”.

    The Congress veteran had also said he won’t accept Sidhu as the next chief minister or the party face in the upcoming Assembly polls.

    Talking to the media, Mustafa said he respected Amarinder Singh a lot and he had been his family friend.

    “But if he calls Sidhu anti-national, I will reply.”

    He claimed that he was in possession “proofs” of “a mountain of wrongdoings” against Amarinder Singh.

    “Capt Sir, we have been family friends for long. Don’t force me to open my mouth. I know u hve infinite capacity to tell barefaced lies with a straight face,” he said in a tweet.

    “What u know that I know, is not even tip of the iceberg. I hve in my possession a mountain of yr wrongdoings with irefutable proofs,” he said in another tweet.

    Speaking to reporters, Mustafa said Amarinder Singh should not call Sidhu “anti-national”.

    “He should not target Gandhi family through Sidhu sahib – His target is Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi,” alleged Mustafa.

  • Charanjit Singh Channi’s journey from being elected to municipal council to becoming first Dalit CM of Punjab

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: From being elected president to a municipal council to being handpicked as first Dalit chief minister of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi has seen a meteoric rise in the last two decades.

    The 58-year-old three-time legislator from Chamkaur Sahib assembly constituency in Rupnagar district had joined the Congress in 2012 and was holding the portfolios of Technical Education, Industrial Training, Employment Generation and Tourism and Cultural Affairs in the outgoing Amarinder Singh-led cabinet.

    He had along with three other ministers rebelled against Amarinder Singh while choosing to side with the camp of state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

    ALSO READ: Congress leaders fear ripple effect from Punjab turmoil

    With barely five months left for the assembly polls, the announcement of a Dalit face as chief minister by the Congress assumes significance as Dalits constitute nearly 32 percent of the state’s population.

    The Doaba region – Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar and Kapurthala districts – has the highest population of Dalits.

    The Shiromani Akali Dal, which has joined hands with the BSP, has already announced that the deputy chief minister post will be given to a Dalit if it wins the assemby polls, while the Aam Admi Party too is sensing a victory as its rivals remain in disarray.

    ALSO READ: Charanjit Singh Channi to be next CM of Punjab, Capt Amarinder offers ‘best wishes’

    Though Channi appears to be a surprise choice, it can be a calculated gamble by the party which is hoping that there might not be public opposition from leaders in the faction-ridden party to the naming of a Dalit for the post and it may contain the damage from the unsavoury exit of Amarinder Singh.

    Channi along with three other ministers – Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria – and a section of MLAs had last month raised a banner of revolt against Amarinder Singh, saying they have no faith in his ability to honour the unfulfilled promises.

    He has been a vocal critic of the government on the issues related to Dalits like representation of Scheduled Caste in senior government posts.

    ALSO READ: Will Congress take cognizance of Amarinder Singh’s ‘extremely serious’ charge against Sidhu and act – BJP

    His political journey began with being elected as the president of the Kharar municipal council in 2002.

    He first contested as an Independent in 2007 and won from Chamkaur Sahib Assembly constituency.

    He joined the Congress in 2012 and was again elected as legislator from the same seat.

    During his ministerial tenure, Channi was at the centre of a row after a woman IAS officer had accused him of sending an “inappropriate text” message in 2018.

    Thereafter, the Punjab Women Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and had sought the government’s stand.

    ALSO READ: Amarinder Singh – The man who put Congress back on saddle in Punjab

    At that time, the then Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had asked Channi to tender an apology to the woman officer and had also said he believed the matter had been “resolved” to her satisfaction.

    But the issue again came to haunt Channi in May this year when the women panel chief threatened to go on a hunger strike if the state government failed to apprise her within a week of its stand on an “inappropriate text” message issue.

    But Sidhu’s camp had alleged that it was an attempt by Amarinder Singh to target his detractors.

    In 2018, Channi again courted controversy when he was purportedly caught on camera flipping a coin to decide between two candidates for the post of lecturer in a polytechnic institute, leaving the Amarinder Singh government red-faced.

    A lecturer from Nabha and another from Patiala had both wanted to be posted at a government polytechnic institute in Patiala.

    Channi had once got a road constructed outside his official residence to have east-facing entry to his house and it was later razed by the Chandigarh administration.

    He was the leader of opposition in the Punjab Assembly during the previous SAD-BJP regime.

  • Amarinder Singh resignation: Congress MLAs authorise Sonia Gandhi to pick new CLP leader

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit Saturday accepted Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s resignation.

    The governor, however, has asked him and his council of ministers to continue in office for the transaction of routine business till alternative arrangements are made, according to an official statement.

    “Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit accepted his (Amarinder) resignation and that of his council of ministers,” said the statement.

    Earlier in the day, Singh submitted his resignation along with that of his council of ministers.

    “I, hereby, tender my resignation as Chief Minister, and that of my Council of Ministers,” the one-line resignation letter said.

    Meanwhile, Punjab Congress MLAs have authorised party president Sonia Gandhi to pick a new CLP leader.

    A resolution to this effect was passed unanimously in a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party here.

    Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken, who was one of the two central observers deputed by the party, told reporters that 78 of 80 party MLAs were present in the meeting.

    He said another resolution praising and thanking Amarinder Singh for his contribution towards Punjab and the Congress was also unanimously passed at the meeting.

    “We expect that the party will continue to get guidance of Amarinder Singh,” he said.

  • Capt Amarinder Singh resigns as Punjab CM, to address media at Raj Bhawan gate shortly

    By Online Desk

    Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday resigned as Punjab CM. He submitted his resignation along with that of his council of ministers, according to the CM office.

    Singh will address the media outside the Punjab Raj Bhawan ahead of a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party, his media adviser said.

    Singh had decided to put in his papers ahead of the crucial CLP meeting in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, sources close to him said.

    In a tweet, the media adviser said, “Punjab Chief Minister @capt_amarinder will address a press conference at Pubjab Raj Bhawan Gate at 4:30 pm.”

  • ‘Humiliated thrice’: Amarinder Singh quits as Punjab CM, says ‘will exercise options when time comes’

    By Online Desk

    Congress veteran Amarinder Singh on Saturday resigned as chief minister of Punjab, capping months of a power tussle that had polarised the ruling party in the state headed for elections in just about four months.

    “I feel humiliated”, says Amarinder Singh after resigning as Punjab CM. The Congress is free to “appoint whoever they trust”, Amarinder said, adding that he would “exercise his options when the time comes”.

    Singh had decided to put in his papers ahead of the crucial CLP meeting in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, sources close to him said.

    In a tweet, the media adviser said, “Punjab Chief Minister @capt_amarinder will address a press conference at Punjab Raj Bhawan Gate at 4:30 pm.”

    Amarinder Singh, who had been facing internal feud and in-house attacks for months, had told Congress chie Sonia Gandhi on Saturday morning that he had put up with enough humiliation. “This kind of humiliation is enough, this is happening for the third time. I can’t continue to stay in the party with this kind of humiliation,” Singh told Sonia Gandhi.

    Amarinder Singh’s move came as factionalism again surfaced in the state unit with sections opposed to him requesting a meeting of Congress Legislature Party. Punjab is scheduled to go to the polls early next year.

    Four rebel ministers and MLAs had written to the party’s command demanding a meeting of the legislature party. Some of them conveyed that he does not enjoy the support of the majority of MLAs.

    When the tussle in Punjab escalated in August, the party’s central leadership has sought to bury the hatchet by appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Congress chief apparently against the desire of the Chief Minister.

    Amarinder Singh, who was Captain during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, took the oath as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab in 2017 after Congress won the Assembly Elections with the majority.

    He served as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee from 2010 to 2013.

    Singh had served as a member of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for five terms representing Patiala (Urban) thrice and Samana and Talwandi Sabo once each.

    In 2015, he was again elected as President of the Punjab Congress. Singh resigned from Lok Sabha on November 23, 2016, and fully dedicated himself to Punjab polls and the party came in power in the state with a majority. 

    Former Punjab Congress chiefs Sunil Jakhar and Pratap Singh Bajwa, and Beant Singh’s grandson Ravneet Singh Bittu are now the frontrunners of the CM post.

    (With agency inputs)

  • AAP MLA Raghav Chadha kicks up row after calling Navjot Singh Sidhu ‘Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: AAP MLA Raghav Chadha on Friday called Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu “Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics” over his criticism of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, drawing the ire of netizens who slammed him for his “misogynist” comment.

    “The Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics -Navjot Singh Sidhu- has received a scolding from Congress high command for a nonstop rant against Capt. Therefore today, for a change, he went after Arvind Kejriwal. Wait till tomorrow for he shall resume his diatribe against Capt with vehemence,” Chadha tweeted, tagging a video of Sidhu criticising the Delhi government for “notifying the Centre’s farm laws”.

    Sidhu had in the video said, “Exploitation of farmers and decreasing prices even on crops where MSP is announced–Arvind Kejriwal you notified the Private Mandi’s central black law! Has it been de-notified or the masquerading is still going on?” Soon after Chadha’s tweet, actor Rakhi Swant started trending on the microblogging site as netizens came out in her support and slammed the AAP MLA for the comparison.

    Alka Lamba, former AAP member and now with the Congress, said Chadha’s comments showed the mentality of the ruling AAP in Delhi towards women as she equated it with RSS’s thinking.

    A netizen reacted, “Rakhi Sawant- the most hard working who gives her hundred percent loyalty and effort to each project she takes, turning a dull flop show into an entertaining one, she is a compliment compared to the hateful fake counter parts!”

    “What’s wrong in being a Rakhi Sawant that you are using it as an insult? No matter how hard these seasoned sanghis try to cover their reality, it does slip occasionally,” another user wrote.

    Another Twitter user asked, “Why to drag a woman’s name in your political battle?” “Misogyny continues to dominate Indian politics. Criticism of a rival cannot be done without dragging a woman’s name. Shame on you Raghav,” another one tweeted.

    Meanwhile, Sidhu hit back at Chadha, saying the AAP leader had not yet answered his question.

    “They say man descended from the apes and the monkeys, Looking at your mind @raghav_chadha, I believe you are still descending! You still haven’t answered my question about notifying the Farm Laws by your Government,” he said.

  • Navjot Singh Sidhu attacks SAD, AAP over farm laws; AAP calls him ‘Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics’

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party over the Centre’s contentious farm laws, accusing them of staging a drama over the issue.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at Sidhu, calling him “Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics”, comparing him to an actor.

    Sidhu on Wednesday too had attacked the Badals of the Shiromani Akali Dal, accusing them of laying the foundation of the Centre’s farm laws over which farmers are protesting for the past several months.

    The SAD led by its president Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal held a protest march against the laws in Delhi on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the passage of the laws, prompting police to detain both leaders.

    Attacking the SAD, Sidhu once again alleged that they were “creators and defenders” of the “black laws”.

    “The creators and defenders of the black laws are shedding crocodile tears today!!. Your drama stands exposed…#Black Day,” Sidhu tweeted.

    Sidhu also attacked the Aam Aadmi Party, alleging that the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi had last year notified one of the farm laws even when farmers were sitting at the borders of national capital protesting against the legislations.

    In a video message on his Twitter handle, Sidhu said the AAP staged a drama of tearing copies of the central farm laws in the Delhi Assembly.

    “Exploitation of farmers and decreasing prices even on crops where MSP is announced–@Arvind Kejriwal Ji you notified the Private Mandi’s central black law! Has it been de-notified or the masquerading is still going on..?” Sidhu said in another tweet.

    Hitting back, AAP leader Raghav Chadha said, “The Rakhi Sawant of Punjab politics–Navjot Singh Sidhu–has received a scolding from the Congress high command for non-stop rant against Capt (Amarinder).”

    “Therefore today, for a change, he went after Arvind Kejriwal. Wait till tomorrow for he shall resume his diatribe against Capt with vehemence,” Chadha tweeted.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Sidhu had alleged that one of the Centre’s laws is a “photostat copy” of the Punjab Contract Farming Act, 2013 enacted during the previous SAD-BJP government led by Parkash Singh Badal.

    The Amritsar MLA had also claimed that the Badals initially supported the central laws and then took a U-turn after facing heat from farmers.

    His remarks had drawn a sharp reaction from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which asked if Sidhu ever objected to the state Act as a minister in the Congress government or later.

    The SAD in a statement earlier said Sidhu is trying to “befool” people by raking up old issues to cover up his party’s failures.

  • In a show of strength, nearly 62 Congress MLAs turn up at Punjab Congress chief Sidhu’s home

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  In a show of strength, the newly-appointed Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu gathered 62 Congress MLAs at his residence in Amritsar on Wednesday, including four cabinet ministers. 

    Sidhu will formally take charge of the state Congress unit at a function held in Chandigarh on Friday. Three of the four ministers who visited Sidhu’s residence—Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria had helped topple then Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa in 2015 by siding with Amarinder. Charanjit Singh Channi is the other cabinet minister who went to Sidhu’s house. 

    Meanwhile, with his loyalists meeting Sidhu, pressure mounted on CM Capt Amarinder Singh to meet his former protégé. A few party leaders have urged him patch up with Sidhu. “If Amarinder can meet Partap Singh Bajwa and Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who had also passed personal comments on him, then he should also meet and pardon Sidhu. We will not allow anyone to split the party,” Randhawa said. 

    Pargat Singh, an MLA, questioned the chief minister’s decision to demand an apology from Sidhu at a time when people are giving him a rousing welcome.  On differences between Sidhu and Amarinder, MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur said, “There is no need for Sidhu to apologise.

    He is now the president of the State Congress unit. Why should he apologise? It is right that he should respect the Chief Minister, but for what should he apologise? The Chief Minister should welcome Sidhu with open arms. The CM also met Pratap Singh Bajwa who had been speaking against him. Amarinder’s advisers are not guiding him properly.”

    Jalalpur added that Congress will win next year’s Assembly elections because of Sidhu. “Today, entire Punjab wants him. There is great enthusiasm among party workers after Sidhu’s elevation. Our vote share will certainly go up,” he said.