Not in race for CM post, main aim is that Cong wins 2027 Punjab polls: Warring

Chandigarh, Jan 9 (PTI) Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday rejected rivals' claims of factionalism within the party, while asserting that he was not in the race for the chief minister's post and the primary aim was to win the 2027 assembly elections.

"All of us want the Congress to form the government in the state and get rid of the looters and robbers who have held the state to ransom for the last four years," he said.

Dismissing claims of infighting within the party, Warring alleged that the ruling AAP and the BJP were spreading such rumours since they have no concrete allegations against the Congress.

The state Congress chief reiterated that he was not in the race for the chief minister's post. "Moreover, none of the party leaders said that they were in the race," he added.

Addressing 'MGNREGA Bachao Sangram' rallies in Balachaur and Samrala, Warring and other Congress leaders asserted complete unity among the party rank and file. They reiterated that the Congress was committed to serving the people if it came to power in Punjab in 2027, no matter who became the chief minister.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, announced that if a Congress government is formed in Punjab in 2027, it will make a special provision to "restore" the MGNREGA in the state.

He further said, "In case the BJP government at the Centre did not revive it (MGNREGA) till 2029, the UPA-era law would be revived if the Congress comes to power at the Centre." According to a Congress statement, Baghel reiterated that the Congress was committed to the welfare and well-being of the poor and the downtrodden and accused the BJP-led NDA dispensation at the Centre of only working for a select few.

Warring alleged that the BJP and the AAP were two sides of the same coin. While the BJP has scrapped the MGNREGA now, the AAP had already failed in its implementation, he claimed.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, said the MGNREGA was initiated by the Congress in 2005 after consultation with all political parties.

Referring to the state of affairs in Punjab, he said nobody was feeling safe here. The Congress will finish off all gangsters within one month of coming to power, the way it had eradicated terrorism from Punjab earlier, he said. PTI SUN NSD NSD