Sunil Jakhar, Former Punjab Pradesh Congress chief, has claimed that 42 of 79 party MLAs wanted him to take over as the Punjab Chief Minister after Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down from the post while only two legislators favoured Charanjit Singh Channi.
On Tuesday, addressing a public meeting in his Abohar, Jakhar said, “There were 42 MLAs in my favour, only two MLAs took Channi’s name as Chief Minister.” He also claimed that he declined the post of Deputy Chief Minister offered to him by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Charanjit Singh Channi, in September last year, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab while Sukhjinder Randhawa and OP Soni took oath as deputy chief ministers. Notably, Jakhar has been vocal against his own party for quite some while now.
Jakhar’s remark came as the Congress party is yet to announce its CM candidate for the Punjab Assembly elections.
On this, the Shiromani Akali Dal took a jibe on Congress party stating that Jakhar’s statement had exposed the electoral fraud committed by the Congress high command in the name of inner party democracy.
In a statement here, former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema demanded the immediate resignation of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. He said the Congress high command had not only cheated its legislators but the entire rank and file by making Mr Charanjit Channi the chief minister. “This was done even though Channi secured only two votes during an internal ballot of legislators which was held to decide Capt Amarinder Singh’s replacement as chief minister”.
Dr Cheema indicated as to now that Sunil Jakhar had disclosed that he had received the support of 42 legislators and that Sukhjinder Randhawa had received the support of 16 MLAs, Preneet Kaur of 12 and Charanjit Channi of two, it was up to the Congress high command to set the record straight. “The Congress party also owes an explanation to the party rank and file as to why it did not proceed on the principle of inner-party democracy. This also shows that the inner-party democracy which the Congress proclaims is a sham and that it is still run in a dictatorial manner by the Gandhi family.”
With agency inputs.