New Delhi, July 3: For Congress, Friday marked a day of headaches as several of the disgruntled Punjab leaders met former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi while on the other hand party’s Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah sparked a buzz in the political circles. But soon, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot defended his party colleague and said that it js highly inappropriate to unnecessarily give a political colour of his meeting with Shah on serious issue.
The meeting of Randhawa, who is.also the incharge of Rajasthan took place at a time when resentment has been growing in Punjab Congress over the recent organisational reshuffle in the statenunit as the grand old party decided to retain Amrinder Raja Warring as the state unit chief and Partap Bajwa as CLP leader.
The meeting of Randhawa with coincided with the meeting g at residence of Channi in Punjab over the retention of Warring as Punjab Congress chief. Sources had earlier indicated that Channi wanted to lead the state in the assembly polls as Congress state chief and he had made his intentions clear with the party leadership, despite that he was made the chief of the campaign committee. Thus, party leaders.pointed out that he has been upset with the decision of the leadership, once again highlighting the internal rift in the Congress just ahead of crucial assembly polls later next year.
However, Randhawa, after meeting with Shah strongly refuted attempts.to give a political colour and clarified that his discussion was strictly confined to administrative and security issues and there was nothing political to read between the lines.
Soeaking to the media at hisnresidence here, Randhawa said that “it had nothing to do with politics”.
“Any attempt to politicise a genuine concern regarding the safety and security of Punjabis is unfortunate,” he remarked.
He said the pre-scheduled meeting, focused on the deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab especially in the districts.of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Pathankot and other regions near the international border, and particularly issues related to border security, extortion, narco terror and gangster threats.
He clarified that the meeting had no political undertones and was held solely to apprise the Home Minister of the ground situation in the state.
Emphasising on the agenda of the meeting with the Union Home Minister, he said, “I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on June 4, 2026, approximately two months ago, and sent a copy to the Home Minister. It addressed the situation in Punjab, specifically the border districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Pathankot, highlighting the urgent issues of deteriorating law and order, Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, narco-terrorism, the nexus between gangsters and politicians, and the political weaponisation of the Punjab Police.”
He said that along with that initial letter, he submitted details regarding a notorious gangster active in his area.
“I also sent a subsequent letter on June 23, detailing how gangsters are operating in Gurdaspur and other regions. Based on these communications, I was summoned for a meeting during which we discussed the conclusions I had drawn in the final paragraph of my last letter…I pointed out the presence of central agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Military Intelligence (MI), the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). I also emphasised that extortion and threats are rampant across Punjab today,” he said.
The Congress leader said that during the meeting, they acknowledged the existence of widespread extortion and threats, as well as the fact that mobile phones are being used almost continuously from within prisons.
“I maintain that if the Government of India acknowledges that the current situation constitutes a threat to national security, and that Pakistan is directly intervening, then it cannot shy away from its responsibility…” He said.
Meanwhile, former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also came.put in defence of Randhawa and said that it is highly regrettable and inappropriate to unnecessarily give a political colour to meet Shah on serious issue.
Gehlot in a post on X said, “The family of Randhwa ji is one of the most respected families in Punjab. His father and former Punjab Congress State President, Santokh Singh Randhawa, openly stood up for the unity and integrity of the country without fear during times of unrest in Punjab. He was one of the few politicians who raised his voice against militancy from public platforms.”
The senior Congress leader asserted that carrying forward this legacy of his father, Randhawa has always adopted an extremely firm stance against anti-national forces.
“As Punjab’s Home Minister, he has also taken strict action against such individuals. It is evident that due to their steadfast stand in the interest of the nation, he and his family have continuously received threats. In such circumstances, ensuring their security is entirely the government’s moral and constitutional responsibility,” he said.
“If he met the Union Home Minister on this serious matter, it is highly regrettable and inappropriate to unnecessarily give a political colour to what is a normal and essential process,” Gehlot added.
