New Delhi, October 2
Three months after the announcement of various election committees for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has dramatically bowed to the mounting pressure of a section of “disgruntled leaders,” compelling Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to roll back his earlier decision of retaining Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president. In a decisive move, the mantle has now been handed over to hockey Olympian and former Punjab Congress Minister Pargat Singh. Notably, Pargat has been a hockey Olympian, former Superintendent of Police and former Director of Sports of Punjab. Besides, he had also served as Chief Parliamentary Secretary in SAD. Though the name of former Punjab Minister Vijay Inder Singla was doing the rounds for the post of the PPCC president but in a surprise move, the party high command has entrusted Pargat with the formidable responsibility of steering the party’s state unit through the turbulent run-up to the polls.
For the past several months, speculation over a leadership shake‑up in the Punjab Congress had been swirling relentlessly. However, in a dramatic turn of events, the All India Congress Committee (AICC), finally buckling under the sustained pressure of dissident leaders, today issued a formal communiqué announcing the replacement of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring with Pargat Singh.
Reacting to the dramatic development, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched a sharp barb at the Congress, remarking that the party could never muster unity for the cause of Punjab, yet somehow finds common ground when it comes to replacing its PPCC chief. With Warring now stepping down, Mann quipped that all Punjab Congress leaders will inevitably turn their energies towards jockeying for influence under the new president. His biting observation underscores the irony that while the Congress struggles to align itself with Punjab’s larger interests, it appears remarkably united in its internal power games.
Meanwhile, in his reaction, former Union Minister Ravneet Bittu posted on his social media handle X, “Use and throw Policy of Rahul Gandhi.” Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini said, “There is massive turmoil within the Congress, whether in Punjab or across the country. In Punjab, the party has effectively set the state back. Beyond Punjab, and indeed across the entire nation, the party is plagued by internal controversies and major infighting that extends right down to the grassroots level.”
