Rawat claims 'all is well' as Channi, Sidhu head to Kedarnath

Despite the ongoing rift in the Punjab Congress, party leader Harish Rawat on Tuesday said that all is well in the state and expressed confidence in its victory in the forthcoming assembly polls.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Congress state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu reached Uttarakhand to offer prayers at the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath on Tuesday, amid reports of unease between the leaders.

Rawat expressed the confidence in the leadership of the newly-appointed Congress' Punjab and Chandigarh in-charge, Harish Chaudhary and said that it would take the party towards victory in the state.

"Did you see when I had said that all is well now in Punjab? Everything is going smoothly, we are overcoming challenges. I am confident that this will continue and Harish Chaudhary is someone you can learn from. This is taking us towards victory in Punjab. Congress will win," he told media-persons in Dehradun on Tuesday.

Rawat, who earlier served as Punjab Congress in-charge, was replaced by Harish Chaudhary last week months ahead of the 2022 assembly polls.

Rawat also said that Channi, Sidhu, Chaudhary and Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh paid him a visit before they headed to Kedarnath to offer prayers.

The visit of the Punjab CM and Sidhu to Uttarakhand came a day after the former cricketer attacked politicians who offer ‘lollipops’ just ahead of the elections and urged people to give their votes on the agenda of Punjab's welfare.

Sidhu's remarks had come on a day when Channi announced slashing of power tariff by Rs 3 per unit for the domestic category and increasing the dearness allowance for the government employees and pensioners in Punjab.

Both Sidhu and Channi have not been on the same page over certain appointments which led to unease between both of them.

There has been an ongoing rift in the party's Punjab unit for the last several months.

Sidhu had tendered his resignation as Punjab Congress chief on September 28.

He was reportedly upset over the bureaucratic setup and his commands not being followed after cabinet expansion in Punjab. But his resignation was not accepted by the party.

Sidhu's resignation as state party chief has intensified the crisis in the Punjab Congress as a minister and three Congress leaders, considered close to him, stepped down from their posts.

This came as a big blow to the Congress that was hoping to resolve the turmoil in the Congress unit of Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections early next year.