Sunil Jakhar takes dig at Congress' decision to pick Charanjit Singh Channi as CM face, calls him 'liability' whose greed pulled party down

Following the Congress's defeat in Punjab assembly elections, former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Monday slammed the grand old party's decision to pick Charanjit Singh Channi as the chief ministerial candidate in the 2022 Punjab polls and termed him a “liability” for the party.

However, later he said his intention was not to accuse anyone of anything.

In a tweet today, Jakhar hit out at party leaders who described CM Channi as an “asset” while reviewing the poor show at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi on Sunday.

“An asset - r u joking ? Thank God he [Channi] wasn’t declared a ‘National Treasure’ at CWC by the ‘Pbi’ lady who proposed him as CM in first place,” Jakhar tweeted while taking a dig at Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni for "proposing" Channi's name as the CM after Captain Amarinder Singh tendered his resignation.

He also dubbed Channi as a “liability” to the party and blamed his own greed for the downfall of the party in the Punjab Assembly elections. “May be an asset for her but for the party he has been only a liability. Not the top brass,but his own greed pulled him and the party down,” he said.

He also tweeted a picture of Channi with a headline reading: “ED seizes Rs 10 crore from Channi’s nephew; CM cries foul.”

Later, Jakhar clarified that his tweet was “not to accuse anyone of anything”.

Jakhar also said that Congress workers want someone whom they can believe in. “A Punjabi leader sitting in CWC is trying to project him as a national treasure. He may be a treasure for her but not for Congress. The next 5 years will be challenging for Punjab and party,” he added.

Notably, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had declared Mr Channi as the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2022 Punjab Assembly election during his visit to Ludhiana on February 6.

The Aam Aadmi Party romped home by winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab assembly. The Congress was routed in the elections and could win only 18 seats.