'Amarinder Singh Will Agree With High Command's Decision': Harish Rawat On Punjab Congress Rift

Harish Rawat met Capt Amarinder Singh amid rift in Punjab Congress and informed that the Punjab CM will agree to whatever the high command decides.

Chandigarh: AICC general secretary and Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat arrived in Mohali on Saturday, where he met Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.  This meeting comes after a rift between the Punjab CM and Navjot Singh Sidhu over the decision of choosing the party state president.

A day before Harish Rawat met Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sonia Gandhi but did not reveal any decision about appointing a new state Congress chief.

Amarinder Singh had earlier hinted that they are not happy with the reports citing the cricketer turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu will be appointed as the state party chief. However, after the meeting, Harish Rawat spoke to the media and said that Capt Amarinder Singh will agree to the decision of the party's high command but he has also raised some points which could solve the issues for the party. 

”Had a fruitful meeting with Harish Rawat. Reiterated that any decision of INC president will be acceptable to all. Raised certain issues which he said he’ll take up with the INC president," Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh quotes the CM.

There is also talk of appointing more than two working presidents including a Dalit and a Hindu face to balance the caste equations.

The names of minister Vijay Inder Singla and MP Santokh Chaudhary were doing the rounds for the post of working presidents.

Meanwhile, Sidhu met Sunil Jhakar on Saturday morning, who he may replace as the party unit chief in the coming days. Both Jhakar and Sidhu looked delighted to meet each other and there seemed no tension between them according to the pictures shared by ANI. 

On Friday, the Punjab chief minister wrote a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, expressing his reservation over the appointment of disgruntled leader Navjot Singh Sidhu as the state unit chief, according to news agency PTI.

In his letter, Singh is believed to have warned Gandhi that appointing Sidhu as the president of the Punjab Congress could have an "adverse" impact on the party's prospects in the assembly elections which are likely to take place early next year. The possible elevation of Sidhu would amount to ignoring the old guard, Singh reportedly wrote in the letter.