Punjab Congress feud widens, MP faces complaint over parallel paper leak protest
Fresh signs of factionalism have surfaced within the Punjab Congress after Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi skipped Parliament on a day when Leader of Opposition
Fresh signs of factionalism have surfaced within the Punjab Congress after Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi skipped Parliament on a day when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the Lok Sabha and instead led a protest in Punjab over the alleged paper leak issue. The move has now led to a formal complaint against Channi being sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, seeking disciplinary action. A copy of the complaint has been accessed by India Today. Read Full Story According to party sources, Channi's absence has raised concerns within the Congress leadership, particularly because party MPs had been instructed to remain present in the House. A message circulated by Punjab Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla on the party's WhatsApp group had asked all MPs to attend the proceedings. While the remaining six Congress MPs from Punjab were present during Rahul Gandhi's speech targeting the BJP over the alleged police action against student protesters at Jantar Mantar, Channi was absent. The controversy has been further fuelled by Channi's social media campaign for the Faridkot protest. Party insiders pointed out that the promotional posters and posts prominently featured only Channi's photograph, with neither the Congress flag nor images of senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi. Senior leaders are learnt to have viewed the campaign as an attempt to project an independent political identity rather than an official party programme, especially since the Congress had already planned its own protest on July 31.
"This is unacceptable. How can any MP remain absent from Parliament after a whip has been issued?" a senior AICC functionary said, indicating that the party high command has taken note of the developments. PROTEST EXPOSES ORGANISATIONAL DIVIDE The Faridkot demonstration became the latest flashpoint in the ongoing power struggle within the Punjab Congress. The protest was organised by former MLA Kushaldeep Singh 'Kikki' Dhillon, who is considered close to Channi and is among the leaders advocating a change in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leadership. Several senior leaders aligned with Channi attended the event, including MLAs Rana Gurjit Singh, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Barindermeet Singh Pahra, besides former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, former MP Mohammad Sadique and several former legislators. However, Faridkot District Congress Committee president Navdeep Singh Babbu Brar and leaders associated with Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring stayed away. The district unit had already planned its own protest on July 31 over the paper leak issue but later postponed it after consultations with the state leadership. DISTRICT CHIEF WRITES TO HIGH COMMAND The parallel protest prompted Faridkot District Congress Committee president Navdeep Singh Babbu Brar to write to Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal, alleging gross organisational indiscipline. In his complaint, Brar alleged that Dhillon organised the programme without consulting the district unit despite there being no official concept of a "halka in-charge" in the party's organisational structure.
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