On Monday, Congress general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat said that the party would soon replace Pradesh Congress chief Sunil Jakhar. Rawat also added that the party will also subsequently rejig the Cabinet.

Rawat further said that the changes would be carried out “within 2-3 days”. It was stressed that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will remain in the post.

Immediately after being discharged from hospital, where he was admitted, Rawat stated, “Punjab will get a new PCC chief and a few new faces in the Cabinet of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.”

He further said, “There will be no change in the CM. Nobody demanded any change at that level. People had a few issues. Those will be sorted out. Also, the party has to take many factors into consideration. It has to work out the right role for the right person.”

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Over the past few weeks, Punjab Congress has been troubled and wracked by voices of dissent against Capt Amarinder. This intra-party crisis has intensified in recent months. With Assembly elections scheduled for early next year, leaders in Congress have been getting restless over the delay in its resolution. Amid the chaos, there were unconfirmed reports that Navjot Singh Sidhu could be named the new chief of the party in the state.

Rawat further said, “The changes are on the cards within 2-3 days. I was confident that everything will be resolved before July 8. That is why I had announced that everything would be sorted out by the end of the first week of July.”

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Reflecting on the problems in other states, Rawat also said, “Things were, however, delayed because other states were also demanding attention of the high command. But as the general secretary in-charge, I was getting worried that it was getting delayed. The issues should get resolved soon. Otherwise, what is the general secretary in-charge for?”

Congress general secretary Rawat also expressed confidence that after the announcements, “everybody” in the Punjab Congress would be happy.

The Punjab affairs in-charge of Congress also added, “Do not you see how Navjot Singh Sidhu has trained his guns in the right direction? The guns are trained at the right persons.” In this statement, he was referring to Sidhu’s tweets over the last two days targeting the Badals instead of the Chief Minister.

The INC general secretary further said that Amarinder’s statement after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi that he would abide by what the Congress president decides, was “a big deal”.

On Capt Amarinder Singh’s reaction after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Rawat praised the CM and stated, “It was so magnanimous of Captain Sahib that he did not say anything about Sidhu, and said that he had left everything to the Congress president. It is a huge thing if someone of the stature of Captain Sahib says such words. I was hoping it would have a sobering effect on the Punjab Congress as well.”

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Cabinet rejig- marginalised groups to be represented

There will be a Valmiki leader, among the new faces in the state Cabinet. On this reshuffle Rawat said, “There will be a reshuffle. A Valmiki will be inducted. There will be no heartburn as everybody wanted Valmikis to get representation in the government.”

CM Capt. Amarinder Singh is learnt to have drawn up a list of new Ministers. On the new list, there are reports that a few ministers from Majha and Malwa could be dropped. Reports also point out that a first-time MLA, the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, and an MLA belonging to the Backward Classes could be inducted. In another development, a group of Ministers is reported to have decided that if anyone among them was dropped, all of them would resign en masse.