CHANDIGARH: Former Punjab Chief Minister and sitting Congress Member of Parliament from Jalandhar, Charanjit Singh Channi, was conspicuous by his absence when Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi spoke during a debate in Parliament on Thursday, bringing to the fore the recent rift within the Punjab Congress.
Meanwhile, the party's General Secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is set to undertake another 10-day tour of Punjab to rejuvenate the party organisation, reconnect with grassroots workers and lay a strong organisational foundation ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Instead, Channi was in Faridkot on Wednesday to participate in a protest demanding the resignation of the state's Health and Education Ministers over the alleged paper leak in the recent pharmacy officers' recruitment examination. On Thursday, when Rahul Gandhi participated in the debate on The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill-2026, Channi was the only one among the seven Punjab Congress MPs who was absent.
The other Congress MP from Amritsar, Gurjit Singh Aujla, had even sent a message to Punjab MPs asking them to remain present in the House from 12 noon onwards. However, Channi could not be contacted and is learnt to have been engaged in the protest against the alleged paper leak in the pharmacy examination when Rahul Gandhi was delivering his speech in Parliament. Meanwhile, all other six Congress parliamentarians from the state were present in the Lok Sabha.
The development comes at a time when the Punjab Congress has recently witnessed an internal rift. The infighting was triggered after the Congress decided to retain Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as its Punjab unit president, while Channi was appointed chairperson of its campaign committee.
Notably, after meeting Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal in Delhi on July 16, Channi had said that "all is well", asserting that he and leaders in his camp would abide by whatever decision the party high command takes.
As the state goes to polls early next year, a section of leaders led by Channi and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa opposed the move and sought the removal of Warring as the Punjab Congress chief.
The marathon tour assumes considerable political significance as Baghel will spend the majority of his visit in the Malwa region, the political heartland of Punjab, which has historically played a decisive role in determining the party that forms the government in the state. The programme has been meticulously designed to facilitate direct interaction with workers at every level of the organisation while enabling the party leadership to obtain first-hand feedback on political developments and organisational issues.
Sources in the party said that the programme has been carefully planned to ensure maximum participation from every level of the Congress organisation. The AICC has invited the complete district-level organisational structure, including District Congress Committee office-bearers, Block Congress Committee presidents and office-bearers, Mandal presidents, Booth Level Agents (BLA-1), candidates who contested the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, former Members of Parliament, former MLAs, presidents of frontal organisations, AICC and PPCC members, as well as elected representatives from Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and municipal bodies.
Baghel recently met state leaders during his six-day visit to Punjab.
