Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said he will write to party president Sonia Gandhi to seek "strict action" against the "brazen indiscipline" of the two Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo, who have "attacked" their own government in the state.
Jakhar's statement came a day after Bajwa and Dullo targeted their party-led government over the spurious liquor tragedy that claimed over 100 lives, and petitioned Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore for a probe by the CBI as well as the ED into the alleged "illegal" liquor trade. While extending his sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in the horrific incident, Jakhar said such tragedies do not give any individual the license to indulge in "indiscipline".
Jakhar, a former MP, further said it was time to stem the rot and save the Congress from the "petty machinations" of the likes of Bajwa and Dullo, who have "no shame" in biting the hand that feeds them. "'Ye jis thali mein khatey hain ussi mein chhed kartey hain' (They have no shame in biting the hand that feeds them," he said in a statement here.
He said he would seek "strict action" against the two Rajya Sabha MPs who were "disgracefully exploiting" a tragedy to "further" their own political ambitions and interests. Asserting that the actions of Bajwa and Dullo cannot be tolerated any longer, the Punjab Congress chief said men like these, who do not even have the courage to face elections, are no asset to the party.
Such "back-stabbing" members should be shown the door before they can cause any serious damage, said Jakhar, adding "enough is enough now" and he is going to clearly demand strict action against them from the party president. Jakhar described the action of the two MPs, who approached the Governor on Monday to demand a CBI and Enforcement Department (ED) probe, as a manifestation of their "desperate desire to grab the high seat of power by hook or by crook."
"How many times in all these years did they ask for expediting the CBI inquiry into the sacrilege cases (which has since been taken over by Punjab Police) or the ED probe into drugs, launched during the erstwhile SAD-BJP government?" he asked. Jakhar said Bajwa and Dullo have been engaging in such "anti-party" activities for quite some time by talking against their own party and targeting the Congress government in Punjab.
Their attacks had increased after Amarinder Singh announced his decision to contest the 2022 elections, he further said. "Having probably seen the 2022 polls as their last chance to make it big in the corridors of power, the duo saw their hopes shattered and, out of sheer frustration, were knocking at all possible doors to sneak their way to the top echelons of power," said Jakhar, citing rumours about the two MPs being in touch with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Jakhar described the attack by the two Congress MPs on their own government as a "copy-paste job" of what happened in Rajasthan in January after the deaths of 107 infants over which Sachin Pilot had flayed his own government. "Had action been taken against Pilot then itself, what is happening today in Rajasthan today could have been avoided," said Jakhar.
He further said he will bring to Sonia Gandhi's notice the dangers of letting Bajwa and Dullo get away with their detestable act of expressing their dissent/concern not in the party or government forum but in public. The "gross indiscipline" of the two men had shown that there was no guarantee that they will stand by the party in the Rajya Sabha on key issues, Jakhar said.
He said the two MPs were surviving politically only due to the largesse of the Congress high command, which had nominated them to the Rajya Sabha since they had were "scared" of contesting the assembly or parliamentary elections. In fact, he recalled that Rahul Gandhi had helped Bajwa by making him PCC president in the face of opposition, but his "betrayal" of Rahul's and the party's trust had exposed his petty political ambitions which he was bent on pursuing to the "detriment" of the Congress itself.
Dismissing as "completely hollow" the concerns expressed by Bajwa and Dullo, Jakhar rejected their claim of giving voice to the people of Punjab by taking the issue of the hooch tragedy to the Governor. The two had not once raised any issue of Punjab's interest at any forum worth mentioning, he said.
From Sutlej Yamuna Link canal to the grant for Punjab, GST refunds, Covid aid and the most recent anti-farmer ordinances, the two MPs had studiously chosen to "keep quiet" in the Upper House on every matter of importance to Punjab, he said.
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