Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 22: The Congress party’s top leadership has firmly reiterated that indiscipline and public discussion of internal matters will not be tolerated, sending a strong message to its Punjab unit ahead of upcoming elections.
The directive followed a nearly three-hour meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, chaired by him and attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, general secretary in charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel, senior leader Ambika Soni, and other top leaders.
From Punjab, the delegation included PCC president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Congress Incharge (Rajasthan) Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Vijay Inder Singla, Rana KP Singh, and Dr. Amar Singh.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, KC Venugopal said the discussions were constructive, with all Punjab leaders sharing their views. He emphasised that party discipline must be strictly maintained, and internal matters should only be discussed on official party platforms, not through media or social media.
Responding to questions, Venugopal clarified that there would be no change in leadership in Punjab. While leaders are free to meet the high command individually, he made it clear that “groupism” would not be tolerated under any circumstances. He added that Kharge and Rahul Gandhi would soon visit Punjab for programmes, providing opportunities for leaders to meet them directly.
On social representation, Venugopal reaffirmed the party’s commitment to ensuring fair representation for marginalised sections, including SCs, STs, OBCs, and economically weaker groups from the general category across India.
Emphasising unity, he said, “The Congress party is one. We are together, and we will remain together. The Congress will fight the Punjab elections unitedly and will win with the support of the people of Punjab, ‘Araam Se’.”
Bhupesh Baghel echoed this sentiment, noting that public sentiment in Punjab favours a Congress government and reiterating that elections will be fought under collective leadership, with Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi as the party’s faces in the state.