Amid rebellion, Congress ought to strengthen Punjab CM’s hand
For a man who strode like a colossus, defeating BJP heavyweight Arun Jaitley in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and wresting Punjab for the Congress in 2017, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s grip on the party machinery is now being tested. With state polls about six months away, he is facing a rebellion of sorts, with a section of party leaders led by Navjot Singh Sidhu trying to damage his reputation. Passions have been whipped up on the alleged desecration of the Sikh holy book during the Badals’ watch as rulers of Punjab. A probe into the incident was recently thrown out by the high court, giving the Shiromani Akali Dal an energy boost. Strengthening Sidhu’s charge of the CM being soft on the Badals was Amarinder’s decision to constitute a fresh probe panel with a mandate to submit its findings in six months—right into the heart of the poll season. While Sidhu has the ear of the Gandhis, he had a forgettable record of indecision when he was a minister in the state. Yet, the high command is trying to placate him with a plum post.
The rebellion comes at a time when bigger issues like the farm reform bills, the Covid situation, the challenges of electioneering during the pandemic and rampant drug abuse are dominating the mindspace. Middlemen for Punjab farmers lost big time this year as payment was made direct to the growers for the procured grains. The Badals, who squandered away political capital during the farm agitation, are trying to crawl back. And the AAP is waiting to exploit the situation. Besides, vaccine profiteering in Punjab that bought jabs for the 18+ but sold them at a much higher price to private hospitals, which in turn added a top up to the cost to fleece beneficiaries, was an embarrassment. It showed how the policy of allowing states to procure vaccines directly was horribly wrong.
As for Amarinder, he continues to be the tallest Congress leader in Punjab. The complaints the rebels have against him are not about governance; they are about their lack of access to him and the bureaucracy’s functioning. The party high command ought to empower its general ahead of the poll fight instead of creating too many encumbrances.