CHANDIGARH: Ministers and MLAs of the ruling Congress in Punjab will face the music if they do not ensure the victory of the Congress candidates in their constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections.
The ministers will be dropped from the cabinet and the MLAs will not be given the ticket in the next assembly elections, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh announced on Wednesday.
The decision has been taken by the Congress high command, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, to accelerate the momentum for achieving the party’s Mission13 in the state in the ongoing Lok Sabha
elections, Amarinder disclosed.
The party has also made the criteria for allotment of chairmanships of various boards more stringent. Toughening its stance, the Congress has decided that such chairmanships will be allotted on the basis of the performance of individuals in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
"Performance and not seniority will be the criteria determining their eligibility for boards and corporations," the CM said.
The objective behind these decisions, he said, was to promote a performance-based culture in the party. "Rahul was in favour of rewarding those party leaders and workers who make a difference on the ground," he said, further adding that the Congress president wanted to bridge the gap between the people and the party through its elected representatives.
Meanwhile, Amarinder lashed out at the Badals for playing with the religious sentiments of Sikhs by abusing the community’s highest temporal seat Akal Takht to promote their vested interests.
He has also directed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to pick up all crops with less than 12% moisture arriving at the Mandis without further delay.
All 13 seats in the state will go to the polls in the last phase on May 19.