New Delhi: A day after taking oath, the newly appointed Chief Minister of Punjab Charanjeet Singh Channi, and Deputy Chief Ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and OP Soni, along with Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, headed to Delhi to discuss the state's cabinet expansion in Punjab with the party's top leadership.
Soon after a meeting with Congress General Secretary incharge KC Venugopal and Punjab Congress incharge Harish Rawat in the national capital, the Congress released a list of new, additional office-bearers for its Punjab unit, which includes the names of Pargat Singh, a close aide of Sidhu, and Yoginder Pal Dhingra as general secretaries and Gulzar Inder Chahal as the treasurer.
Also read: Charanjit Singh Channi takes oath as 16th CM of Punjab
The new list assumes significance as it is speculated that the loyalists of Captain Amarinder Singh, who was being 'cornered' by the party high command leading him to resign from the post of CM, will be axed by the new chief minister. According to sources, Brahm Mohindra -- whom the Congress had initially announced as one of the deputy chief ministers -- Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Gurmit Singh Sodhi will be left out of the cabinet. On the other hand, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, Inderbir Singh Bolaria and Madan lal Jalalpu are likely to be the new faces in the cabinet.
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In line of duty !! pic.twitter.com/ljxxz5UeF9
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 21, 2021 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">In line of duty !! pic.twitter.com/ljxxz5UeF9
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 21, 2021In line of duty !! pic.twitter.com/ljxxz5UeF9
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 21, 2021
While leaving from Punjab for Delhi, Sidhu tweeted a picture of himself, along with Channi and Randhawa, near a charter plane with the caption, "In line of duty!!" The tweet was criticised by Aam Aadmi Party leader Harpal Singh Cheema who said Sidhu, through the tweet, had shown the real face of Congress leaders, who claim to be a "poor common man".
Raveen Thukral, who was the media advisor to former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, also took a dig at the three leaders. "Wow.. what a 'gareeban di sarkar'! A 16-seater Learjet to ferry 4 people when a 5-seater official Chopper was available. I am now beginning to feel I sleepwalked through the last four and half years believing Punjab to be in a fiscal mess. Wonder who's paying for such luxury-the state govt or INC Punjab?" he tweeted.
