Amarinder says he is here to stay

Saturday, 10/03/2012

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120310/punjab.htm#5

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh today claimed he was here to stay, but party leaders wanted a “chintan shivar” to analyse reasons for the party’s debacle in the recently held Assembly elections.

However, two leaders of the Congress called the Holi celebrations at Kapurthala legislator Rana Gurjeet Singh’s house as “shameful” at a time when the entire state unit was in grief. Rana Gurjeet claimed the celebration had been planned in advance with Wadali brothers booked to perform at the event and so could not be cancelled.

After owning responsibility for the party’s fiasco and offered to resign, Amarinder today put up a brave front and said that he had not resigned. Maintaining that he would stay with the party workers, he said, “I cannot leave about 50,000 Congress workers who are facing vendetta cases at the hands of the current government”.

The PCC president, who left for New Delhi today, said that he would meet Sonia Gandhi in the next few days to brief her about the election outcome and factors that contributed to the party’s defeat. “I will strictly go according to the directions of the party president,” he added.

However, leaders want the defeat to be debated at the state-level. Former Pradesh Congress president Varinder Kataria in a statement today said Amarinder should call a meeting of the PCC to go into the causes of the “humiliating” defeat. He also said that the entire state leadership rather than Amarinder should brief the Congress president. He said that it was important, as Amarinder would only offer explanation of the defeat rather than “individual lapses”. Kataria said he would also appeal to the Congress president to call a “chintan shivar”.

In a separate statement, party leader Sukhpal Khaira called for summoning of an emergency meeting introspect on the debacle, adding such a meeting should be held under the aegis of senior party observers from Delhi. Khaira said the in-charge party affairs and independent observers should listen to all legislators, party candidates, district Congress presidents to find out the reasons for the defeat.

He said the PPCC president should also show magnanimity by explaining how the party had lost the Assembly elections second time in a row to the SAD-BJP under his command. Khaira also said that inaccessibility and a callous and lackadaisical approach of those at the top who were surrounded by non-political people, rendered the working machinery of the party frustrated and demoralised.

Khaira said adding insult to injury top Congress leaders celebrated ‘Holi’ yesterday at the house of Rana Gurjeet Singh here, who invited singers from Pakistan for this purpose. He said the celebrations took place when Congress workers were mourning, weeping and not even taking meals. He said in direct contrast, Akali leadership led by PS Badal offered prayers at Anandpur Sahib on the occasion. In another statement, victorious party candidate from Ferozepur Parminder Singh said it was a shame that a ‘Holi’ celebration was held in Rana Gurjeet’s house which was located in front of the residence of former chief minister HS Brar whose son and former Muktsar legislator Sunny Brar died recently. “Even illiterate people do not act so insensitively”, he added.