New Delhi: Ahead of Punjab Assembly polls, the Congress MPs from the state unit of the party on Thursday met Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and raised several issues including the bomb blast in Ludhiana and mob lynching incidents in the state.
According to the sources, the MPs also criticised Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and the state Home Minister for not condemning the lynching incidents in the state and the consequent action to stem such violent incidents.
The sources further stated that MPs also stressed the need to maintain communal peace in the state given its history of militancy.
Meanwhile, MP from Patiala and wife of Captain Amarinder Singh, Preneet Kaur skipped the meeting.
Apart from security and law and order issues dominated the discussion, governance challenges, electoral strategy and Congress' vision for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
One of the MP, who was present at the meeting said, "Leaders suggested that there is a need to have better coordination between the government and the party as there have been instances where statements of Punjab Congress Chief have landed his own government in embarrassment." Punjab is a big challenge for the Congress party as upto now it is the only state where the party has the hold from top to bottom but after the current political change in the state, the road is no easier for them with four corner fights is emerging.
This comes days after Congress on Wednesday decided to give the party ticket to only one member from a family. The decision was taken at the Screening Committee meeting of the party held at 15 GRG in the national capital. The meeting lasted for around 3 hours.
Speaking to ANI, Punjab Congress Incharge Harish Choudhary on Wednesday said, "The Screening Committee discussed candidature on 117 Assembly seats today and a strategy has been made. A decision has been taken that the ticket will be given to only one member of a family. Not more than one ticket will be given to the members in a family." Talking about the second committee meeting, Choudhary said that it will be held soon where all the members of the committee will be present.
"The next meeting will be held soon. All the members of the Screening Committee will be present in the next meeting," he said.
Congress leader Ajay Maken told the media, "It was a good discussion. All of us will decide on the candidates. Today we have held discussions." Meanwhile, Punjab assembly polls are scheduled to be held in early 2022.In the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The SAD could manage to win only 15 seats while the BJP secured three seats.
