Despite the Congress leadership’s efforts to project unity in the state following the appointment of Pargat Singh as Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president, the rivalry between former PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu continues in the city.
Latest signs of the factional divide surfaced on Thursday when Ashu’s camp expressed ignorance about Warring’s visit to the city and a press conference convened by him on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
When asked about the programme, Ashu remarked that it was good Warring had resumed visiting the city, but said he was unaware of either the visit or the press conference.
Party insiders said while senior leaders have appeared together on public platforms since Pargat Singh took charge of the state unit, relations between the two camps remain strained. They pointed to a recent “informal” meeting at the residence of former MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid, attended by leaders considered close to Warring, including Sanjay Talwar, Simarjit Singh Bains, Rakesh Pandey, Pawan Dewan, Capt Sandeep Sandhu and Surinder Dawar. Notably, no leader from Ashu’s camp was present.
Congress leader Pawan Dewan said the gathering was not planned and acknowledged that no one from the Ashu’s camp had been invited.
He claimed that even during the visit of Amrita Dhawan, the AICC in-charge for Ludhiana, who came to gather feedback on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), leaders belonging to the Ashu’s group had stayed away.
A senior Congress leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said instead of taking on political rivals such as the BJP, AAP and SAD, party leaders appeared preoccupied with internal power struggles and one-upmanship.
DCC (Urban) president Sanjay Talwar, when asked whether Ashu would join Warring’s press conference, said party leaders had been assigned responsibilities ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s November 4 visit to Sangrur.
“Ashu may be occupied with one of those assignments. Otherwise, he would have joined us,” Talwar said.
Warring meets kin of vendor’s murdered son
Earlier in the day, Warring visited the family of Rahul Sharma, son of the owner of city’s well-known Pandit Chole Kulche Wala, who was shot dead during a birthday party in the city recently. At the family’s Prem Nagar residence, the Ludhiana MP met Rahul’s father, Kuldeep Sharma, and conveyed his condolences.
Speaking to mediapersons, Warring said the family was uncertain whether the suspects had been arrested. The Congress leader said after speaking to CP Swapan Sharma, he was informed that the suspects had been arrested, though the motive behind the murder remained unclear.
Warring questioned the circumstances that led to the killing of the 34-year-old, who was the only child of his parents.
“What was the reason? Why was the young man killed? Such incidents raise serious questions about the functioning of the Punjab Police,” he said.
He claimed that availability of illegal weapons today was more worrying than during the militancy era.
Warring was accompanied by Pawan Dewan, Sanjay Talwar, former MLA Kuldeep Vaid, Simranjeet Singh Bains, Jagseer Sidhu, Nirmal Kaira, Maninder Pal Guliani, Rohit Pahwa, Kulbir Neeta, Brij Mohan Sharma, Deepak Hans, Harbhagat Grewal, Jaswinder Singh Oshan and Varun Sharma.
