Amid calls for ‘replacement’ of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Punjab Congress, state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday held an ’emergency’ meeting with Tripat Bajwa and other party leaders at Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) office.

Sidhu confirmed that he received a call from Bajwa demanding an emergency meeting. The Punjab Congress chief said that the national high command of the party will be apprised of the details of the deliberations.

“Got a call from Tripat Bajwa ji asking for an emergency meeting… Met him along with other colleagues at the PPCC office.  Will appraise the high command of the situation,” Sidhu tweeted.

Demand to ‘replace’ Punjab CM gains momentum

All is not well within the Punjab Congress unit as the Navjot Singh Sidhu camp has yet again demanded that incumbent Chief Minister Amarinder Singh should be replaced. 34 Punjab MLAs, comprising four Cabinet ministers, Tuesday, decided to apprise the national leadership of Congress over the widespread dissidence among the party ranks.

Notably, Punjab Congress MLAs, Tripat Bajwa, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Charanjit Channi and MLA Pargat Singh, considered to be close to Sidhu, would be meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and put forward their demand to replace Amarinder Singh as the CM.

“Changing the CM is the prerogative of the party high command. But we have lost faith in him,” Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said.

Punjab minister Bajwa also said that Amarinder Singh should be replaced by another CM.

“My opinion is that the CM should be replaced else Congress will not survive. We are going to Delhi today to meet Sonia Gandhi to speak on this matter,” Bajwa said.

Channi informed that Punjab Congress legislators unanimously authorised a five-member committee to apprise Sonia Gandhi about the unhappiness of the party cadre over non-fulfillment of election promises by the Singh government.

Interestingly, the demand to replace Amarinder Singh emerged a day ahead of state affairs in-charge Harish Rawat’s visit to Chandigarh amid the growing ‘war of words’ between Singh and Sidhu.

It may be noted that despite Amarinder Singh’s objection, Sidhu was elevated to the post of Punjab Congress president by the Congress high command in July 2021.

Notably, Sidhu’s two advisors, Malvinder Singh Mali and Pyare Lal Garg, have stoked a huge controversy overthero remarks on Pakistan and Kashmir.

Singh also hit out at Mali and Garg over their remarks and asked Sidhu to rein in his advisors, saying such “atrocious and ill-conceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country”.