Chandigarh, July 13
On Saturday, after apparently failing to convince the AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel to replace Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president, the rebel group started circulating the story of a “compromised” leader.
The ‘Compromised’ Campaign Begins
Although Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who seems to have taken over the charge of the rebel camp, did not mention Warring, but he suggested it clearly as to whom he meant when he said the party cannot win under a “compromised” leadership. In the age of social media, it does not take much time or effort to join the dots. The rebel camp followed it up on social media, clearly saying that Warring was “compromised” and had an understanding with the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Congress’s Oldest Political Weapon
“Compromised” jibe is not new in Congress. It has been going on for years. It started with Rajinder Kaur Bhattal being accused of having an “understanding” with then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Bhattal was facing a case for anti-corruption charges for allegedly misusing the Chief Minister’s discretionary funds. The case had been registered by the Akali government, which succeeded her government in 1997. Since Badal was not known for aggressive vindictiveness, he did not pursue it much during his tenure.
The Rebellion That Almost Succeeded
When the Congress led by Capt Amarinder Singh replaced the Akali-BJP government, he went all out against the Akalis, particularly the Badals. Cases under anti-corruption laws were registered against Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and many senior Akali leaders and former ministers. Both Badal and Sukhbir went to jail also. In the meantime, Bhattal, having been the Chief Minister for a brief while before 1997, opened up a front against Amarinder. She led a powerful rebellion. Had it not been for Natwar Singh, Amarinder’s brother-in-law, who, at that time, was very close to Sonia Gandhi, Bhattal would have succeeded in toppling Amarinder. It is a different story that later Natwar Singh fell apart with Gandhi and Amarinder disowned him. They had a vitriolic, no-holds-barred confrontation, where they leveled personal allegations against each other in an exchange of signed articles in a leading news magazine of the country. That is a separate story.
The ‘Compromised’ Tag Returns
When Badal returned in 2007, Sukhbir started “returning the favour” to Amarinder with an anti-corruption case related to Ludhiana City Centre. Bhattal replaced him as the PPCC president. She was also the Congress Legislative Party leader. While Badals were after Amarinder, Bhattal was understood to be enjoying a warm relationship with them (the Badals), thus earning the tag of a “compromised” leader. In the meantime, Badal managed to get a clean chit for himself in the cases registered against him during Amarinder’s regime, with all the witnesses recoiling.
The ‘Compromised’ Narrative Continues
In 2012, in an unprecedented development, the Akali-BJP regime returned to power. It was the first time that the incumbent regime had won. Amarinder was again replaced as PPCC president, this time by Partap Singh Bajwa. By now, Amarinder was also tired of the cases against him. Badal, as already mentioned, was never aggressively vindictive. He went slow and lenient against Amarinder. Eventually, Amarinder also got acquitted during the same regime, but not before earning the “horror” of being compromised.
The ‘Compromised’ Label Persists
After Amarinder returned as the Chief Minister in 2017, he was a completely changed man. There was no aggression of 2002 seen in 2017, when he had jailed Badals. Some of the Congress leaders during the campaign had accused Bikram Singh Majithia of patronizing some drug mafia. There was a strong demand from a section of the party leadership, like Navjot Singh Sidhu, to register case under NDPS against Majithia. Amarinder declined. After he was unceremoniously removed in September 2021 and Charanjit Singh Channi took over as the Chief Minister, Majithia was booked under the NDPS. The new Congress regime accused Amarinder of being “compromised”.
Warring Becomes the Latest Target
Now comes the rebel jibe against PPCC president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring that he is “compromised”. The rebel camp has been claiming that Warring wanted to avoid inquiry and FIR against him related to building of the bus bodies in Rajasthan, which was done apparently at the behest of a senior Rajasthan Congress leader who remained in charge of Punjab. Chief Minister Mann has quite often accused Warring of corruption. Interestingly, the AAP government also got the bodies of the buses built in Rajasthan only.
Warring’s Performance Counters Allegations
Having nothing against Warring, actually, the rebel camp hurled the “compromised” charge against Warring, which actually does not stick. Warring has led the party to an impressive performance in the 2024 General Elections, when the Congress won seven of the thirteen seats in Punjab. The ruling AAP was a distant second with three seats. Warring himself defeated Ravneet Singh Bittu, who was a three-time MP and two-time sitting MP from Ludhiana and had joined the BJP. Moreover, Bittu was widely rumoured to have been supported by Chief Minister Mann, with whom he used to enjoy a cordial relationship as both were in parliament together. Despite that, Warring romped home with victory.
An Unanswered Question on Channi
Interestingly, the rebel camp conveniently ignored the fact that Charanjit Singh Channi, the leader they are projecting to be the Chief Ministerial face, has his own weak spot, which is difficult to ignore. The seizure of about Rs 10 crore cash from the residence of his nephew by the Enforcement Directorate, while he was the Chief Minister, is a permanent sword hanging over his head. This case is understood to be one of the reasons that the high command did not appoint him as the PPCC president or announce him as the Chief Ministerial face.
More Politics Than Proof
The point here is not to cast any aspersions against any of the Congress leaders, but only to remind that the “compromised” horrific has been stuck and slapped on most of the leaders when nothing else was found against them.
(Views expressed are personal.)