The Hindu : CM faces flak from party men

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003

Other States

Other States - Punjab

CM faces flak from party men

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH SEPT. 16. An uneasy calm prevailed in the ruling Congress camp in Punjab today after some of its Ministers and legislators decided to confront the Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, on various counts. Some heated arguments were reported at the Congress Legislature Party meeting this morning.

Insiders said much heat was generated in the almost four-hour-long meeting even as some Ministers and legislators were upset at the inaccessibility of the Chief Minister and non-compliance of their orders by officers posted in the field. They were resentful that even officers in the Chief Minister's Office exhibited apathy towards the elected representatives.

One of the Ministers, who is counted among the rivals of Capt. Amarinder Singh, went to the extent of charging that their activities were under surveillance by the intelligence and vigilance personnel. He got major support from another Minister, who till recently was considered to be the Chief Minister's loyalist.

A woman legislator warned the Chief Minister that the State Government was sitting on a powder keg and a spark was enough to ignite political disaster. At this, another legislator said that it would be a Herculean task to manage a single seat if Lok Sabha elections were announced.

While most of the Ministers and legislators, said to be close to the Chief Minister, preferred to remain silent spectators, one MLA who is a Chairman of an advisory committee sought to remind the CLP that Capt. Amarinder Singh had recently been rated, by a leading English periodical, as the second most popular Chief Minister in the country. At this many legislators pointed out that an attempt was on to undermine the contributions of the previous Congress Chief Ministers, including the martyrdom of Beant Singh.

An insider claimed that there was heated argument between the President of the state unit of the party, H.S. Hanspal and senior leader, Surinder Singla. Earlier, Mr. Hanspal expressed reservations that the Ministers did not reach the party headquarters to chair sessions of grievance redressal of the public despite being intimated about their duties. He asked the Ministers to introspect and analyse their performances.

After the meeting concluded many legislators were heard complaining that they were denied the opportunity to express their views.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

CM faces flak from party men