CHANDIGARH: Putting all speculations to rest, former Punjab chief minister and sitting Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Charanjit Singh Channi, on Thursday said the party high command allowed him to skip the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting as he was to appear for an examination at Panjab University here.
Channi’s absence had triggered fresh political speculation within the Punjab Congress, particularly at a time when differences among senior party leaders over the leadership of Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring remain unresolved.
Channi, who is the sitting MP from Jalandhar, holds a PhD in Political Science from Panjab University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration. He has also expressed interest in further research in the area of public policy reforms.
Talking to the media at the Panjab University campus while replying to a question on skipping the CWC meeting, Channi said he had been studying for the past four and a half years.
"I had sought written permission from the party high command saying that I won't be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday. Had I missed my paper, my degree would have got delayed by a year. And due to this, the research work, which I want to pursue, would have also got delayed."
Speaking about the master’s course, Channi said Thursday was his last examination for the Master’s in Public Administration and that he wanted to undertake research in policy reforms and pursue a PhD programme in this regard from Panjab University. "My subject will be how reforms can be brought in policy and put Punjab on the development track," he said.
Expressing confidence that Congress would form the next government in Punjab, he said they would bring such reforms that a government employee would not be able to indulge in corruption.
He also spoke about free education and free healthcare for people if Congress forms the next government in the state. "When Congress forms the government, we will implement this model," Channi added.
His decision to skip the CWC meeting came amid a series of recent absences from important party programmes.
Channi had stayed away from Punjab Congress in charge Bhupesh Baghel’s extended visit to the state for organisational activities.
Baghel spent around 10 days in the state, holding meetings and interacting with party leaders and workers, but Channi remained absent.
He had also skipped an event during the Lok Sabha session when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to speak in the House. Instead, Channi attended a protest in Faridkot organised by Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon, another leader opposed to Warring’s leadership.
Channi has not publicly aligned himself with the rebellion against Warring, although several senior Punjab Congress leaders have openly questioned the Punjab Congress president’s leadership ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. However, party insiders say Channi is among the leaders seeking Warring’s removal from the post.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior party leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and the chief ministers of Congress ruled states were among the senior party leaders who attended the marathon CWC meeting held in the aftermath of the students’ agitation over paper leaks and the Ram temple donations row.
The meeting of the CWC, the party’s highest decision making body, was held in Delhi on Wednesday.