Finally, Capt gets room in AICC, Jagmeet booted out

Monday, 17/06/2013

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Chandigarh : After being removed from the top post of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) in March this year, former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, on Sunday, succeeded to regain his lost prestige to some extent when All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi took him as the Permanent Invitee to the reshuffled Congress Working Committee (CWC).

“The high command gave Amarinder Singh his due today, so we are happy and celebrating the occasion,” said an elated Punjab Congress vice-president Gurpreet Singh Kangar, who enjoys close proximity with the former chief minister.

If his induction made a section of Congress swing into elation, there was another camp from Malwa region which turned quite dejected to know that the name of former Member of Parliament Jagmeet Singh Brar was dropped from the 21-member list of the CWC members.

Though, Jagmeet was not available for comment, his brother Ripjit Singh Brar, who despite best efforts of Jagmeet, failed to retain his legislative seat from Kotkapura in 2012, speaking over phone from Bikaner said, “Capt Amarinder Singh was promised to get adjusted at national-level so it has been done today. As there are limitations of the national leaders of the party, Jagmeet could not secure his position in the CWC. Still, we hope that the party high command would have some plan to accommodate him at a later stage.” Further, with the reshuffle in the Congress, Ambika Soni, former Union Minister and another senior leader from Punjab has been appointed as General Secretary and Congress president’s office incharge, respectively. Soni will also look after three states-Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand in the run up to 2014 elections.

Soni, who had resigned as Cabinet Minister in the last reshuffle, is known to be close to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Further, Jalandhar Lok Sabha MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee, who once headed the Punjab Congress, has been appointed as the Special Invitee to the CWC. Meanwhile, Batala MLA Ashwani Sekhri and Fatehgarh Sahib MLA Kuljit Nagra have both managed to secure berth in 38-member list of secretaries.

Nagra would be one of the three assistants attached with Shakeel Ahmad, who has been appointed as the incharge of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh.

The reshuffle has also brought some notable omissions, including Gulchain Charak from Jammu and Kashmir, under whose supervision the state had gone for assembly polls this time.