NEW DELHI, Aug 10: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi here, who said the government and the party must work together.
This was the first time that Singh met the party president after the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as Punjab Congress chief, despite his opposition.
The meeting comes amid talk of a possible Cabinet reshuffle in the state where assembly polls are scheduled to be held early next year. All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat was present at the meeting.
“Met Congress president Sonia Gandhi ji in Delhi this evening to discuss various state-related issues. Spent an extremely satisfying one hour with her,” Singh was quoted as saying after the meeting by his media adviser Raveen Thukral.
Rawat said, “The Congress president has advised that both the state government and the Congress unit in Punjab have to work together.”
Both Singh and Sidhu have to work together within their limits and should cooperate with each other, he said, adding that the Punjab chief minister is not “upset” with Sidhu and has not stated so.
Sources said Amarinder Singh gave an account of the action taken by the state government on the 18 issues raised by the AICC panel headed by senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
These issues include taking action against the drug mafia and transport mafia and those involved in the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in the state.
Sources add that Singh reportedly raised the issue of Navjot Singh Sidhu’s continued attacks on the Congress government in the state. He also discussed the political situation in Punjab and also a possible cabinet expansion, sources said.
Later in the day, the Punjab chief minister met Prashant Kishor who recently resigned as his political advisor.
Singh also hosted a dinner for some Punjab leaders including Rana Sodhi, Manish Tewari, Mohd Sadique, Preneet Kaur and former law minister Ashwani Kumar among others.
Despite the truce between Singh and Sidhu, the cricketer-turned-politician has been attacking the government. He has questioned the “delay” in taking action by the state government against Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia and others accused in a drug trafficking case. (PTI)
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