|
Chandigarh: A series
of election losses in the last one year, public bickering among
top leaders, a legislator deserting the party, some disastrous
political moves and confused cadres - this is the state of
Punjab's principal opposition, the Congress.
As the Congress sinks to new lows, it has become a mere "laughing
stock" for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal.
Even worse, despite all the turmoil and the political losses,
there is no sign that the top Congress leadership in the state has
learnt its lessons.
When former chief minister Amarinder Singh was finally removed as
the state Congress president recently and replaced by the Lok
Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, Pratap Singh Bajwa, he lost no time in
declaring that the Congress high command, meaning party chief
Sonia Gandhi, did not consult him before making the change.
"I would have suggested the name of a better candidate," a
petulant Amarinder Singh said.
With such a statement coming from, perhaps, the most popular
Congress leader in the state, Bajwa's innings has certainly
started on the wrong note.
This happened at a time when the Congress virtually ended with egg
on its face after recent events during the assembly's budget
session.
Some of its legislators, headed by Leader of Opposition Sunil
Jakhar, took a woman who had been brutally thrashed by Punjab
Police into the high-security assembly building without a valid
permit. What ensued, with Congress legislators being caught on
camera getting into physical fights with assembly security
personnel, left the party further embarrassed.
Nine legislators were suspended by the speaker from the remainder
of the budget session.
"The directionless, leaderless Congress party has reduced itself
to a laughing stock,"
cabinet minister and Youth Akali Dal president Bikram Singh
Majithia said.
Majithia, brother-in-law of Punjab's all-powerful Deputy Chief
Minister and Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, said that
after Joginder Pal Jain, at least five more Congress legislators
were "making desperate bids" to join the Akali Dal.
Jain, the Congress legislator from Moga, had quit the party and
his assembly seat last December and joined the Akali Dal. He got
re-elected on the Akali Dal ticket from the same seat last month.
Bajwa, who recently offered prayers at the Golden Temple in
Amritsar, had asked all 45 Congress legislators to come there and
pledge that they will have nothing to do with the Akalis
politically. Only 20 of them showed up - and the top Congress
leadership was conspicuous by its absence.
While Bajwa is trying to activate the party leadership and cadres,
he is unlikely to get open support from top leaders like Amarinder
Singh, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Sunil Jakhar, Jagmeet Singh Brar and
a few others.
Amarinder Singh led the party through a series of electoral
defeats, including the January 2012 assembly election.
His "royal" style of functioning and disconnect from party workers
and people in general were blamed for the party's "unexpected"
defeat.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)
|
Comments
India Italy standoff
Renewable Energy
Ruckus
in RS
|
Quick links