Decision on PPCC rejig after Sept 20: Bhattal
Tuesday, 15/09/2015
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CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi as part of discussions on revamp of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).
Bhattal, who met Rahul earlier in the day, followed by a meeting with Sonia later, said she has told the high command about the ground situation in Punjab. The decision on the reconstitution of the state unit is likely to be taken after the September 20 rally of the party at New Delhi, said Bhattal.
Bhattal has closed ranks with Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa after her bitter fallout with former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh who has been demanding Bajwa’s ouster. She had opposed Amarinder’s stand on the goods and services tax (GST) bill which led to a verbal duel between the two leaders.
Almost the entire anti-Amarinder camp, including Bhattal, Bajwa, senior leader Jagmeet Brar and sitting and former MLAs, who are not rooting for Captain, are pushing for appointment of a “neutral” PPCC chief. They have all met Sonia and Rahul and supported Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni who is the front-runner for the post. However, Amarinder, who is the deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha is non-committal on Soni as he wants to be given a free hand to run the party.
While the rallies of the rival camps have been abruptly stopped, Amarinder his going ahead with his second leg of statewide tour with a mega rally at Gururharsahai.
