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Bhattal `discusses' issues with Ahmed Patel

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 27. The Punjab Agriculture Minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, arrived here today to discuss with the central leadership the problems dogging the State unit of the Congress.

Contrary to reports that she and her supporters were here at the invitation of the three-member panel of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC), Ms. Bhattal is understood to have been here on her own and spoke to Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the party president.

For nearly a month, the standoff between the dissidents led by Ms. Bhattal and the Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, has resulted in a serious problem in the State unit.

The dissidents claim to enjoy the support of at least 32 MLAs, which amounts to just over half the number the party has in the 117-strong State Assembly. Since the beginning of the crisis, the Chief Minister has avoided a showdown although he had claimed that he has the backing of nearly 40 MLAs.

The dissident faction boasts of 16 Ministers and the Chief Minister, who had cancelled a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, has announced that the Cabinet would meet on December 30.

Parliamentarians from Punjab, who are anxious to ensure that the stalemate is resolved at the earliest, are planning an initiative to resolve the crisis.

A senior MP said that with each passing day the party was losing ground in the State and this could prove disastrous for the party in the Lok Sabha polls.

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