Jakhar to seek action against Cong MPs Partap Bajwa, Dullo; Bajwa hits back

He said he would seek “strict action” against the two Rajya Sabha MPs who were “disgracefully exploiting” a tragedy to “further” their own political ambitions and interests. Asserting that the actions of Bajwa and Dullo cannot be tolerated any longer, the Punjab Congress chief said men like these, who do not even have the courage to face elections, are no asset to the party.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said he will write to party president Sonia Gandhi to seek “strict action” against the “brazen indiscipline” of the two Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo, who have “attacked” their own government in the state. Jakhar’s statement came a day after Bajwa and Dullo targeted their party-led government over the spurious liquor tragedy that claimed over 100 lives, and petitioned Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore for a probe by the CBI as well as the ED into the alleged "illegal" liquor trade.

Jakhar described the attack by the two Congress MPs on their own government in Punjab as a “copy-paste job” of what happened in Rajasthan in January after the deaths of 107 infants over which Sachin Pilot had flayed his own government. “Had action been taken then against Pilot, what is happening in Rajasthan today could have been avoided,” said Jakhar. While extending his sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in the hooch tragedy in Punjab, Jakhar said such tragedies do not give any individual the license to indulge in “indiscipline”. Jakhar, a former MP, further said it was time to stem the rot and save the Congress from the “petty machinations” of the likes of Bajwa and Dullo, who have “no shame” in biting the hand that feeds them.

“Ye jis thali mein khatey hain ussi mein chhed kartey hain (They bite the hand that feeds them),” he said in a statement here. He said he would seek “strict action” against the two Rajya Sabha MPs who were “disgracefully exploiting” a tragedy to “further” their own political ambitions and interests.

Asserting that the actions of Bajwa and Dullo cannot be tolerated any longer, the Punjab Congress chief said men like these, who do not even have the courage to face elections, are no asset to the party. Such “back-stabbing” members should be shown the door before they can cause any serious damage, said Jakhar, adding “enough is enough now” and he is going to clearly demand strict action against them from the party president. Jakhar described the action of two MPs, who approached the Governor on Monday to demand a CBI and Enforcement Department (ED) probe, as a manifestation of their “desperate desire to grab the high seat of power by hook or by crook.” “How many times in all these years did they ask for expediting the CBI inquiry into the sacrilege cases (which has since been taken over by Punjab Police) or the ED probe into drugs, launched during the erstwhile SAD-BJP government?” he asked. Jakhar said Bajwa and Dullo have been engaging in such “anti-party” activities for quite some time by talking against their own party and targeting the Congress government in Punjab.

Their attacks had increased after Amarinder Singh announced his decision to contest the 2022 elections, he further said. “Having probably seen the 2022 polls as their last chance to make it big in the corridors of power, the duo saw their hopes shattered and, out of sheer frustration, were knocking at all possible doors to sneak their way to the top echelons of power,” said Jakhar, citing rumours about the two MPs being in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He further said he will bring to Sonia Gandhi's notice the dangers of letting Bajwa and Dullo get away with their “detestable act” of expressing their dissent/concern not in the party or government forum but in public. The “gross indiscipline” of the two men had shown that there was no guarantee that they will stand by the party in the Rajya Sabha on key issues, Jakhar said. He said the two MPs were surviving politically only due to the largesse of the Congress high command, which had nominated them to the Rajya Sabha since they were “scared” of contesting the assembly or parliamentary elections. In a statement here, MP Bajwa said he and Dullo had no “political design” in doing what they must do in the interest of the people of Punjab. “It was absolutely necessary to raise a tragedy where 117 people have perished. Would Jakhar have preferred had we ignored or glossed over these deaths in the name of party discipline as he has done for so long?” said Bajwa hitting back at the party’s state unit chief.

“I have not bartered away my conscience for a seat in a former Maharaja's durbar. I will continue raising issues of such magnitude,” said Bajwa in a stinging statement. “We are neither power hungry nor frustrated. But as MPs, we cannot shun our responsibility and ignore public issues like this tragedy. We are loyalists of the Congress but not of leaders who are looting the state under the garb of welfare and good governance,” said Bajwa. “Had Jakhar shown the courage to question the Chief Minister on his constant ignorance of these issues, lives may have been saved…. The weak-kneed and spineless leadership shown by Jakhar has left the Congress workers in Punjab demoralised and disgruntled,” he said.

“Punjab today is in a state of distress,” claimed Bajwa. He tried to make his point with an Urdu couplet by Shauq Bahraichi.

“Barbad gulistan karne ko bas ek hi ullu kaafi tha, har shakh pe ullu baitha hai anjam-e-gulistan kya hoga. Only one own was sufficient to ruin the gaerden. What will be its fate with owls sitting on every branch of the garden?” he wrote. “I thought Captain Amarinder Singh alone was enough to cause harm to the interests of Punjab; sadly, now he has received much-needed help and support from Jakhar,” alleged Bajwa.