It was meant to be a show of unity but turned into a political roast. A day-long marathon meeting between Punjab Congress leaders and the party’s central leadership in Chandigarh spilled over into a political war of words, with a video showing several senior Congress leaders squeezed into a single SUV becoming fodder for mockery by the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
However, the visuals soon became a talking point, with the BJP and AAP using them to target the Congress over the perceived influence of its central leadership in Punjab and the party’s internal political dynamics. “Punjab Congress is sitting in the laps of the leaders from Delhi! Neither is Pilot from Moga nor is Venugopal from Hoshiarpur! The jibe was aimed at the presence of the central leadership alongside Punjab’s senior Congress leaders, with Pannu also highlighting that Pargat Singh, the state Congress president, appeared to have been left without enough space in the vehicle. “The leaders from Delhi have tied up the Punjab Congress into a bundle and thrown it into the car. Congress leader Durlabh Singh, considered close to former Punjab Congress chief Raja Warring, retaliated against Pannu by sharing a video of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hanging from a moving vehicle during an AAP roadshow, while party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was inside the vehicle or positioned through its sunroof. The episode comes amid intense political activity within the Punjab Congress, with senior state leaders meeting the party’s central leadership in Chandigarh. What was meant to be a show of togetherness has instead provided political rivals an opportunity to question the state unit’s relationship with its central leadership, while Congress has responded by turning the spotlight on AAP’s own roadshow optics.
Poor state president Pargat Singh did not even get a seat,” Pannu said in a sarcastic post. But I request the media to keep an eye on whether they manage to get out of the car safely or not,” Bittu said.
