Congress ‘high command’ should leave Punjab to Capt Amarinder

Monday, 17/06/2019

https://www.brightpunjabexpress.com/index.php/2019/06/17/congress-high-command-should-leave-punjab-to-capt-amarinder/

CHANDIGARH : Punjab has been the only place for the Congress where everything has been going on so well for last two years since Capt Amarinder led the party to a sweeping victory in 2017. Even now, the party did extraordinarily well in the General Elections, when the entire country was faced with the saffron surge. For the beleaguered party, Punjab has promised not just a ray of hope, but lot of sunshine.

The best thing the Congress high command can do right now is leave everything to Capt Amarinder and discourage all attempts of dissent and rebellion lest the party meets same fate in the state as elsewhere in the country. Why spread clouds of uncertainty and instability in a perfectly governed state that can return the party to power again in 2022.
The high command should ideally not have given such a long rope to rebel minister Navjot Singh Sidhu. Even after about two weeks of the cabinet reshuffle, Sidhu has not assumed the charge of the new ministry. This is outright defiance of the Chief Minister and the standard protocol.

Imagine something similar happening in a Bhartiya Janata Party government in any state. First of all there rebellion and defiance have no place. Even if it happens, the rebels and those defiant know their fate. The outcome is a strong party, strong leadership and a strong government.

When everything was, in fact has been, going on so well in Punjab, came Sidhu’s out of turn and unwanted remark about “friendly match”, a reference often made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the alleged hidden understanding between the Chief Minister and the Badals. The party high command should have snubbed Sidhu at that moment only and asked him to withdraw such statement.
This is not for the first time that Sidhu embarrassed his own party during the General Elections. During his campaigning in Bihar also, he made a direct appeal to the Muslims, asking them to unite and vote en masse for the Congress to prevent Modi from coming to power. This caused reverse polarization and Congress suffered badly. Senior party leader from Bihar Tariq Anwar strongly objected to it and wanted the party to take action against him (Sidhu) as he had alienated the traditional Hindu voters.

The Congress high command’s handling of Sidhu episode does not bode well for the party in the state. The high command should ideally have, at least, advised Sidhu to follow the orders, instructions and directions of his Chief Minister. Anything to the contrary should be unacceptable.

But that has not been happening. The very fact that the high command is trying to intervene and bring in a “truce” between Capt Amarinder and Sidhu only sends wrong signals and can weaken the position of the Chief Minister and consequently the party and the government. After all the Chief Minister has been elected by an overwhelming majority of Punjabis. It goes without saying that it was more a vote for Capt Amarinder than for the Congress in 2017 and 2019.

Congress won in Punjab in 2019 despite Sidhu not campaigning here.  The only three constituencies where he campaigned, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur and Bathinda, the Congress lost. The right thing for the Congress high command will be to straightway ask him to join his new ministry. And that should end the stalemate.