Channi Skips Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha Speech, Leads Separate Punjab Protest Amid Congress Rift
New Delhi : The Congress party’s internal differences in Punjab have once again come into focus after Jalandhar MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi chose to skip Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
While all other Congress MPs from Punjab attended the Leader of Opposition’s address, Channi was notably absent. Instead, he was in Faridkot, leading a protest outside Baba Farid University against the AAP government over the alleged Pharmacy Officer recruitment exam cheating scandal.
Reports suggest Punjab Congress parliamentary group leader Gurjit Singh Aujla had urged all MPs through a WhatsApp message to remain present in Parliament during Rahul Gandhi’s speech. Despite this, Channi went ahead with his own protest, joined by several of his close supporters, including former MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon and a large gathering of party workers.
Interestingly, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was simultaneously leading a separate protest outside Parliament on the same issue, demanding the resignation of Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains. The parallel demonstrations highlighted the continuing divide between Channi and Warring.
The development comes just a day after the Congress leadership reportedly facilitated a closed-door meeting between Channi and Warring in Delhi in an attempt to mend ties ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. However, Wednesday’s events suggested that the differences between the two leaders remain unresolved.
Earlier this month, the Congress retained Raja Warring as Punjab unit president, while Channi was appointed chairman of the party’s campaign committee. Despite assurances of unity following intervention from senior leaders Bhupesh Baghel and KC Venugopal, sources indicate the relationship between the two leaders remains strained.
Channi had also skipped a Parliament protest led by Warring earlier this week, further fuelling speculation that factionalism within the Punjab Congress continues despite the party’s efforts to project unity ahead of the elections.
News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
