Punjab CM Channi meets Navjot Singh Sidhu to discuss Congress' agenda

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Channi while addressing the media said that the meeting was solely to discuss regarding 18-point agenda of the Congress high command.

Chandigarh:After Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu sought a meeting with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi through a letter, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi met the latter. The meeting concluded on October 18. Speaking to the media, Channi said that the meeting was held to discuss the issue related to Punjab.

When asked whether the meeting succeeding in placating Sidhu, Channi said there are no differences in the party. The meeting was convened to discuss how the party should work to fulfil the agenda of the Congress High Command.

Sidhu flagged the issues of sacrilege, drug mafia in his letter written on October 15 and said that it is the poll-bound state's "last chance for resurrection and redemption". He also pointed out sand mining and transport issues. He put forth a 'Punjab Model with an Agenda' to be part of the Congress manifesto for the 2022 Assembly elections" after meeting with veteran party leaders in Delhi. The cricketer-turned-politician had met Rahul Gandhi and raised his concerns.

After Sidhu posted the letter on Twitter, speculations were rife that he is not satisfied with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi-led government in managing pertinent issues he has been raising in the recent past.

Sidhu resigned from the post of state unit chief on September 28. The appointment of the new Punjab Police chief and the advocate general, besides some portfolio allocations to ministers after the new Cabinet formation, triggered his resignation, as per reports.

Channi assumed power as the CM after Congress veteran Amarinder Singh's unceremonious exit. The latter had been at loggerheads with Sidhu.