Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, January 18
The Congress on Tuesday again skipped questions on whether it would project Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as the party’s face in the February 20 Punjab elections.
Moments after alleging that the ruling BJP was targetingChanni with ED raids because he was the most popular leader of Punjab, AICC in-charge of the state Harish Choudhary went on to steer clear of whether the party, in that case, would project Channi as the CM face in the forthcoming elections.
“That is not the question today. The question is whether the ED raids can muzzle CM Channi or Punjabis and Punjab. Who will be CM is a secondary issue. The history of the state is testimony to the fact that Punjabis cannot be suppressed. It is a mistake of BJP to think they can pressurize CM Channi with intimidation and fear,” Choudhary said.
Earlier he had said all the surveys in Punjab were saying that CM Channi was the most popular in Punjab.
“Punjabis were maligned during the farmers’ agitation. But Punjabiyat stood strong. The BJP is forgetting that Channi is not Capt Amarinder. The attempt to muzzle CS Channi is a mistake and will fail. He will keep standing tall. The BJP is anxious about the good governance of CM Channi. During the PM’s tour to Punjab Punjabis were held responsible. It was not the responsibility of CM Channi to fill BJP’s empty chairs. The CM stood with the Punjabis and did not agree to lathi charge them even when a situation was created.”
The Congress continues to struggle with the issue of leadership in Punjab, with PCC chief Navjot Sidhu and CM Channi both taking public stands in their own respective favour as CM faces.
While Channi has said on the record that projecting a CM face would benefit the party electorally as it had done when Amarinder Singh was earlier projected, Sidhu has been vocal about his eligibility to lead Punjab Congress on more occasions than one.
The Congress is so far going with the collective leadership of CM Channi, Sidhu and former state chief Sunil Jakhar to expand its pan community appeal in the state.
Not the Q today: Harish Choudhary on whether Channi is Cong CM face
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