3 Cong MLAs, ex-MLA seek Rana Gurjeet’s expulsion from party over son standing as rebel

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, January 18

A day after Punjab minister Rana Gurjeet Singh openly announced that he would support his son Rana Inder Partap Singh, who has announced to stand as a rebel candidate from Sultanpur Lodhi seat after being denied the party ticket, three sitting Congress MLAs and a former legislator have written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking the minister’s expulsion from the party.

While also sending across the same copy to party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu and Punjab incharge Harish Chaudhary, the Congress leaders have demanded that the “nomination of Rana Gurjeet Singh from Kapurthala constituency be immediately withdrawn and that he should be removed from the party’s membership so as to send across a strong message to the leaders, who are weakening the party”.

Among those who have come in the support of Sultanpur Lodhi legislator Navtej Singh Cheema are Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Jalandhar North MLA Bawa Henry and Bholath ex-MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Alleging interference not just in Sultanpur Lodhi, all the complaining party leaders have said that they too have been feeling the heat, “Rana Gurjeet Singh is trying his best to destroy the winnability of the Congress party in the forthcoming elections. He is weakening the Congress by deliberately interfering in various constituencies of Doaba region such as Sultanpur Lodhi, Phagwara, Bholath, Jalandhar North, Banga etc.We had apprised the state leadership of the party about his anti-party activities but unfortunately he was re-instated in the Punjab Cabinet, post his resignation in 2018.”

The Congress leaders have alleged that fielding of his son from Sultanpur Lodhi is nothing but a “gross violation of party discipline as well as equal to stabbing the party in the back in the crucial moment”. They have also blamed him of being pally with the rivals, “Rana is doing this because he is playing into the hands of opposition parties especially the BJP. He has close ties with the BJP due to his liquor business and sugar mills situated in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and other states.”

The leaders have also alleged that Rana is using his ties with ex-CM Capt Amarinder Singh. “Rana recently helped his confidante Amandeep Singh alias Gora Gill in joining Punjab Lok Congress. With Rana’s support, Gora Gill is all set to contest from Bholath constituency. Rana has conspired with the BJP and Capt Amarinder Singh to destroy the Congress party in Punjab. Under this conspiracy, he is publicly making baseless allegations against PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu, which is also a violation of party discipline. Such indiscipline activities are damaging the party situation. Even the think tanks of Punjab are expressing worry over Congress’s situation. It is being predicted that going with the current indiscipline activities, Congress may repeat its history of 2012 election,” they alleged.

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