Factionalism surfaces in Punjab Cong as  party leaders skip Sidhu’s rally in Phagwara

PHAGWARA, Jan 2: Deep factionalism in Congress was witnessed on Saturday as most of the party leaders remained absent from the rally organised by Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal and addressed by Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu here on Sunday.

Punjab Agro Industrial Corporation Chairman Joginder Singh Maan, senior leader Harjit Singh Parmar, Punjab Mahila Congress Chairperson Balbir Rani Sodhi, Phagwara Improvement Trust Chairman Sohan Lal Banga, District Congress Committee Acting President Daljit Raju, Youth Congress leader Saurav Khullar and several other senior party leaders did not attend the rally.

Maan even asked PPCC President Navjot Sidhu, as to why he was patronising the corrupt politicians like Dhaliwal, who was allegedly involved in post-matric scholarship scam.

Meanwhile, addressing the rally in Grain Market here, Navjot Sidhu openly supported Phagwara MLA Dhaliwal and appealed to the people to strengthen the hands of Congress for a clean, transparent and answerable stable administration.

He strongly criticised AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal for making false promises with the people. He, however, took SAD leaders Sukhbir Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia with firm hands, alleging that both were drowned in deep and rampant corruption.

He held the Badals and Majithia responsible for rapidly increasing drug menace in the state and described them as drug traders.

The PPCC chief even did not spare his own government and said that much more was needed to be done against Majithia, apart from registration of an FIR.

While strongly condemning former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, he alleged that Captain and the Badals were playing friendly matches during their tenures, as none of the SAD leader could be booked in Captain’s two term rule and the Captain could not be booked for corruption during the Akali rule. (UNI)