Rawat, two observers reach Chandigarh for CLP meeting amid rift in Punjab Congress

AICC general secretary Harish Rawat and two observers reached here ahead of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party meeting, the announcement of which has triggered speculations about the fate of CM Amarinder Singh. The AICCs move to call the meeting after bypassing Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has come amid a rift in the Punjab Congress and triggered speculations in party circles about the fate of the leader.

AICC general secretary Harish Rawat and two observers reached here ahead of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party meeting, the announcement of which has triggered speculations about the fate of CM Amarinder Singh. Senior Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Harish Chaudhary have been appointed as the party's central observers for the CLP meeting scheduled for 5 pm on Saturday.

The announcement of the meeting was made on Friday night by Rawat, the in-charge of the Punjab affairs at the AICC. The AICC's move to call the meeting after bypassing Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has come amid a rift in the Punjab Congress and triggered speculations in party circles about the fate of the leader. Such meetings are usually called by the CM as he is the CLP leader in the state.

Several MLAs and some ministers close to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu have been seeking a meeting of the legislature party.

Sidhu and some other party leaders were present at the Chandigarh airport to receive Rawat and the two observers. Maken refused to make any comment on questions related to the meeting.

Former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar in a tweet said, ''Kudos to Sh@RahulGandhi for adopting Alexandrian solution to this Punjabi version of Gordian knot. Surprisingly, this bold leadership decision to resolve Punjab Congress imbroglio has not only enthralled Congress workers but has sent shudders down the spines of Akalis.'' Sidhu's principal strategic adviser and former IPS officer Mohd Mustafa in a tweet said it is the time to have a ''Congress CM'' after a ''long agonising wait'' of four and a half years. ''Today is the time for course correction,'' said Mustafa referring to the meeting. Mustafa's wife Razia Sultana is a cabinet minister in the Amarinder Singh-led government. Earlier, reports had surfaced that a section of Congress MLAs had written to the party leadership to convene a CLP meeting to discuss the poll strategy and progress on the 18-point agenda, which includes action on the 2015 desecration cases and arrest of the "big fish" in drug rackets. Last month, four ministers and around two dozen party legislators had raised a banner of revolt against the Punjab CM and had said they had no faith in Amarinder Singh's ability to honour unfulfilled promises. Four ministers--Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi--had raised a demand for replacing the CM.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)