Cong reshuffle: Capt meets Rahul, party weighs options
Saturday, 24/10/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
New Delhi : The highly anticipated meeting between former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi took place today.
Although the party didn’t provide any official information about the meeting, it is learnt the two leaders spoke for an hour over the electoral challenge in Punjab with Amarinder telling Rahul to speed up decision making in the wake of the rising clout of Aam Aadmi Party.
“It was a good meeting,” said sources. They did not ruling out the possibility of Amarinder being named president of the state unit, but added that former union minister Ambika Soni’s name remained in the contention as of now. “It will be either of the two,” a source said. Meanwhile, The Tribune has learnt that Rahul will again call Amarinder for a meeting next week to discuss the details of Punjab reshuffle before a final decision is taken. Congress leaders maintain they want to do a balancing act in the state and form a committee of leaders which can represent every interest.
Capt seeks autonomy
Capt Amarinder, who has been leading the call to replace the incumbent PCC chief Partap Bajwa, has however sought a free hand from the party high command if it expects him to delivery victory. “Capt Amarinder Singh may like to press for enough freedom in decision making and human resource management. That’s something the party has to consider. The party unit in Punjab has remained faction-ridden for far too long to be allowed to remain divided. The party has to ensure a united front. These discussions take time. But whatever is done, the party would want Amarinder to be on board,” sources said.
Capt Amarinder is learnt to have pressed for an early resolution of the leadership issue in Punjab, where the Congress is a divided house and is sending confusing signals to people. This confusion amounts to ceding space to AAP, Capt is said to have told Rahul, who appears open to the idea of asking Amarinder Singh to steer the party in Punjab.
