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Channi said there is no rift in the party amid reports that he was miffed at the reappointment of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Congress chief.
Last week, senior leaders of the Punjab Congress’ feuding factions put up a show of unity, vowing to fight together in the presence of newly appointed party in-charge Sachin Pilot. (Photo: Congress)
Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday said the state unit is united for the upcoming Assembly elections in what he called the bigger fight to “save Punjab”.
Speaking to CNN-News18’s Simran Babbar, Channi said there is no rift in the party amid reports that he was miffed at the reappointment of Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Congress chief.
The Congress party replaced Bhupesh Baghel as Punjab in-charge with Sachin Pilot to diffuse the crisis ahead of the key electoral battle.
“Recently, when our General Secretary in-charge came to Chandigarh, you must have seen that the entire Congress came together there. So, there is no division like that. We will remain united going forward as well. And look, now the question of who will become Chief Minister, who will become a minister, or who will become the party president is no longer an issue. The issue now is to save Punjab. The issue is to fight for Punjabiyat. The issue is to save the youth of Punjab. Our issues are over now. The situation has become so bad that every Punjabi will have to stand with another Punjabi. We will have to stand together as Punjabis and fight,” Channi said.
Last week, senior leaders of the Punjab Congress’ feuding factions put up a show of unity, vowing to fight together in the presence of newly appointed party in-charge Sachin Pilot. This was Pilot’s first visit to Punjab since being appointed as the state’s general secretary in-charge. Pilot replaced former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who will now look after Assam. During the protest, Channi and Warring sat on either side of Pilot and were seen conversing with each other.
Channi’s supporters had earlier demanded that he be made chief minister for the 2027 Assembly elections and accused Baghel, who was replaced by Pilot, of “favouring” Warring.
Channi Calls Kejriwal ‘Outsider’
Channi also called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal an “outsider” in Punjab, where the latter’s party registered a landslide victory in the 2022 Assembly polls.
“Kejriwal is not a Punjabi. What does he care? Even if he harms his own people, he will land safely in the shade. What do we have to do with him? They have come from outside to rule here and will leave after looting Punjab. What difference does it make to them whether the youth live or die? When we talk about Punjab, and you have focused on Punjabiyat, there are many such issues in the state which, despite having resources, it is still unable to overcome,” he said.
Channi Says Bhagwant Mann Doesn’t How To Run Punjab
Channi criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alleging that he does not know how to run the state and is still “running a stage”.
“First and foremost, whatever leader is in charge needs to have the willpower that, ‘I have to stop this.’ After that, he should not be afraid. He should take action fearlessly, and the administrator on the ground should also be effective,” Channi said.
“Now, our Chief Minister knows how to run the state? He doesn’t know how to run the state at all. There is a huge difference between running a state and running a stage. He is still running a stage,” he added.
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Ask News18Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi stated that the state unit is completely united for the upcoming Assembly elections to fight for Punjabiyat and save Punjab, dismissing reports of internal rifts.
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Simran Babbar is a Senior Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering key developments in emerging sectors related to education and investigations. Through her reports, she brings significant updates from t…Read More
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