New Delhi: Cracks in the Punjab Congress came to the fore once again after outgoing state unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring called his departure a victory for former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.
Warring also said he learnt that the new AICC general secretary in-charge, Sachin Pilot, wanted him replaced, but he voluntarily relinquished his charge.
Nobody had asked him to resign; he did it of his own accord, he asserted.
Congress appointed former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee after Warring submitted his resignation earlier in the day.
Warring met former party president Rahul Gandhi and handed him his formal resignation as the chief of the Punjab unit. He was replaced by former Indian hockey team captain Pargat Singh as the Punjab Congress chief.
Warring headed the state Congress for over four years, and his resignation comes ahead of assembly polls in the state due early next year.
A longstanding infight in the state unit preceded his resignation, with calls for ouster made by Channi and some other leaders.
“Nobody asked me to resign. I had realised what the situation was, and when I felt that the situation had come to a head, I voluntarily gave my resignation and changed my social media handles to ‘former PCC president’.
“Maybe Sachin Pilot felt that it was not appropriate for me to continue as PCC president. Channi Sahib has won,” Warring later said.
He said he has given his feedback to the party leadership for the last 4.5 years, and Pilot may have given some new feedback to the party. “It is learnt that Sachin ji wanted that I should be removed,” he said.
The Ludhiana MP said a lot of personal and family matters were discussed with Rahul Gandhi, along with Punjab politics, and the discussions were positive.
He said he would prefer not to speak about such internal party matters on camera.
“The Punjab cadre is very strong, and we have built a complete organisational structure from the booth to the state level. Congress is very strong at the grassroots level,” he noted.
The Congress recently replaced its AICC in-charge Bhupesh Baghel — who spent weeks in Punjab recently to placate fighting factions — and appointed Pilot in his place.
Former state minister Vijay Inder Singla already leads the race to become the new party chief in Punjab. Singla is also a co-treasurer of AICC and oversees the party’s properties.
Earlier, after meeting Gandhi, Warring said, “I met Rahul Gandhi and formally gave him my resignation.”
“He (Rahul Gandhi) gave me a lot of love. He sought information about the current political situation in Punjab, what is happening with the government and what we should be doing there. This was the information he sought,” he told reporters.
Warring said he told Gandhi about the challenges the Congress faces in Punjab as well as its strengths.
“I discussed with him our challenges and how we have to fight those challenges and where our strengths lie.
“He made me the state Congress chief, and I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to lead the state Congress in difficult circumstances. I assured him that I am ready to serve the party whenever the party requires me,” Warring said.
Asked about infighting that led to a change of state unit chief, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa said, “People who created differences should also think.”
“I am responsible, and so is Warring and other Congress leaders for creating such circumstances that should not have happened,” he noted.