Capt recasts team, brings his loyalists back
Friday, 18/12/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Chandigarh : Two days after assuming charge as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president, Capt Amarinder Singh today revoked expulsion of all Congress workers expelled during his predecessor Partap Singh Bajwa’s term. Also, he opted out of the taking over of CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi.
At Punjab Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh, Amarinder said it was time to take everyone along to unite and strengthen the party. “Each and every Congress worker and leader is important for us and we are taking all of them back into the party fold,” he said.
Bajwa was reportedly not invited for today’s event, but his wife and MLA Charanjit Kaur Bajwa, invited by one of the close aides of Amarinder, was present during the meeting. “Revocation of the expelled leaders is a step taken in haste and against good taste. It could have been delayed for a month or two,” an aide of Bajwa said.
Downplaying Amarinder’s absence, Channi said: “It’s not like he did not intend to come. He only told all MLAs to be present during my taking over as the CLP leader. Since he is not an MLA, there was no prior programme requiring his presence at my function.”
All expelled leaders and workers, including former District Congress Committee (urban) chief Pawan Diwan, Palwinder Singh Taggar, Satwinder Singh Jawaddi, Baljinder Bunty and Vinod Bhatla, have been asked to apply for readmission into the party. The leaders, who were reportedly close to Amarinder, were expelled from the party in November last year on Bajwa’s recommendation as they had allegedly shown him black flags during his visit to Ludhiana. The leaders, however, denied the charge.
Bajwa had also replaced Amarinder loyalist Diwan with Gurpreet Singh Gogi.
Capt said any alliance would be recommended by the PPCC and the final decision would be taken by the Congress chief and the V-P.
