Leader of Opposition in Punjab Legislative Assembly Pratap Singh Bajwa has given a very interesting statement. Regarding the conflicting statements and rebellion of Charanjit Singh Channi, Amarinder Singh Raja Wadding and Manish Tiwari within the Congress, he says, keep watching. Right now we are playing a friendly match. The command will be handed over to the one who remains first among them. In this way he has indirectly welcomed this rebellion.
It is as if the upcoming assembly elections are an Olympic game in which the leader will be decided after a lot of bloodshed. But they are making the mistake that winning assembly elections is not a game. Here mutual unity is what keeps the team moving forward. Because your opponent is also keeping an eye on your every move. Even one mistake of yours will prove beneficial for him.
Congress remained strong in Punjab since independence
Congress has always been strong in Punjab. Even though Akali Dal snatched away the crown from it, no other national opposition party could challenge it. Neither BJP nor its predecessor Jan Sangh. Even after the partition of Punjab and Haryana in independent India, Congress had absolute rule in Punjab. Except during the contract government of 1967 and the Janata Party of 1977. Apart from this, she remained out of power till 1985, 1997, 2007, 2012 and 2017.
But when Darbara Singh became the Chief Minister in 1983, the condition of Congress in Punjab started deteriorating. The main reason behind this was the tension between Giani Zail Singh and Darbara Singh of Congress. Zail Singh has been a very ambitious Chief Minister. He held the post of Chief Minister of Punjab from 17 March 1972 to 30 April 1977.
Importance of Zail Singh and Darbara Singh
After the end of the Emergency, there was President’s rule for two months. Then on June 20, 1977, Prakash Singh Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal became the Chief Minister. But his government ended on 17 February 1980. After this, there was President’s rule in Punjab from 17 February 1980 to 6 June 1980. Congress won the re-election and Darbara Singh became the Chief Minister on 6 June 1980. At that time Zail Singh was the Home Minister at the Centre. Two years later he became President. This was the period when terrorism was growing rapidly in Punjab. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was challenging the entire governance system. The roads of Punjab, the country’s most prosperous state, would become deserted throughout the evening. Terrorists would kill anyone anywhere. The effect of tension in Punjab was spoiling the atmosphere of the entire country.
operation blue star
Meanwhile, on 25 April 1983, Punjab Police DIG Avtar Singh Atwal was shot dead by terrorists when he was returning after visiting Darbar Sahib in Amritsar. He was murdered on the darshan porch of the Golden Temple. The entire administration was shaken. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also got worried. On October 6, 1983, Indira Gandhi removed Darbara Singh and imposed President’s rule in Punjab.
On October 10, 1983, former bureaucrat Bhairav Dutt Pandey was appointed the Governor there. When even they could not control Punjab, it was during her tenure that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi carried out Operation Blue Star through the army in Amritsar. From 3 to 6 June 1984, the army captured the Golden Temple and Sant Bhindranwale was killed.
Arjun’s wonder
The Sikh terrorists hiding in Darbar Sahib were either killed or escaped by taking cover. A month after this operation, Bhairavadatt Pandey was removed and KT Satarwala was made the Governor of Punjab. Meanwhile, on July 31, 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in her residence by her Sikh bodyguards. Eight months later, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi replaced Satarwala with Arjun Singh, who was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, as the Governor of Punjab and sent him to Chandigarh. His intention behind this was that Arjun Singh is an experienced politician, he will definitely find a solution to terrorism. During his eight-month tenure, Arjun Singh formed the government of Surjit Singh Barnala of Shiromani Akali Dal on 29 September 1985. This was a huge success.
Repeated President’s rule
But Punjab became more disturbed during the Barnala government. On June 11, 1987, he was removed and President’s rule was imposed in Punjab. During this President’s rule which lasted for five years, many governors were changed. Even after Shankar Dayal Sharma, Siddharth Shankar Roy, Nirmal Kumar Mukherjee, Om Prakash Malhotra, Virendra Verma and Surendra Nath, the Governor was changed. There was a total of 3510 days of President’s rule in Punjab from 1947 to 1992. That means about ten years. Five years later, when the government of Beant Singh of Punjab Congress was formed, the campaign to arrest and eliminate terrorists started there. At that time Punjab’s DGP KPS Gill almost freed Punjab from terrorism. But then the people of Punjab became angry with the way the campaign of violence was carried out.
High command no longer trusts CM
On 31 August 1995, Sikh terrorists killed him by detonating a bomb. This was a big blow for Punjab. After him, Congress made Harcharan Singh Brar and then on 21 November 1996, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal became the Chief Minister of Punjab. Shiromani Akali Dal won the election in 1997. Prakash Singh Badal became the Chief Minister. In the 2002 assembly elections, the Congress government was formed under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh. But then Shiromani Akali Dal won the assembly elections twice in a row. In 2017, Congress again came to power. But this time, six months before the completion of Captain Amarinder Singh’s tenure, the Congress High Command made Charanjit Singh Channi the Chief Minister. Neither Congress nor Shiromani Akali Dal could win the assembly in 2022, but Aam Aadmi Party got victory.
Bhagwant Mann is not able to handle Punjab
Aam Aadmi Party made Bhagwant Singh Mann the Chief Minister. Before joining politics, Bhagwant Mann was a famous comedian and famous actor of Punjabi films. But after entering politics in 2011, his style changed. He has been MP from Sangrur Lok Sabha seat twice. In the 2022 assembly elections, he contested from Dhuri and won. After this he was administered the oath of Chief Minister. But his tenure as Chief Minister was poor. The gang war of mafias has intensified in Punjab and the trend of drug addiction has increased. That is why people are looking towards Congress as an alternative. But the internal strife of the Congress and the ambitions of the leaders are colliding. If Congress wants its safe return there, then the rebellion of Charanjit Singh Channi will have to be stopped.
On one side Dalits and on the other side Jatt Sikhs
But Channi’s first condition is to remove Amarinder Raja Wadiga from the post of Punjab Congress President. Both these leaders come from influential communities of Punjab. Channi is a Dalit and Raja Wadinga is a Jat Sikh. It is known that Dalit population is highest in Punjab and Jat Sikhs are very powerful in the politics of Punjab. Manish Tiwari has spread different raita on top. If the Congress High Command does not take measures to end this discord, then the plate in their hands will also be lost. It is very important for Congress to win in Punjab. At present he has only Himachal. Don’t know whether he will also be there next year or not.
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