JALANDHAR: The supporters of the Chief Minister, Beant Singh, and Maninderjit Singh Bitta, president of the Indian Youth Congress, degenerated into a shouting match at the meeting of Mrs. Ambika Soni, AICC joint secretary, in charge of the Punjab affairs. There was total chaos as they leveled accusations against each other.
Party workers from both the camps had gathered at the meeting presided over by Mrs. Soni which was one in a series of such meetings which she was holding in various districts of Punjab to study the atmosphere in the state Congress unit in wake of the next parliamentary elections.
The trouble erupted soon after the meeting began when Kuldip Singh Montoo, District Youth Congress President (Bitta group), alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister was harassing the youth Congress workers by getting false cases registered against them.
He appealed to Mrs. Soni to “save them from the hostile designs of Gurmit Singh, Political Secretary. Chief Minister.” This led to slogan shouting by workers of both the camp At this Avtar, honorary general-secretary of the PPCC and MLA, took the mike and said that personal problems should not be aired publicly. However, when the Bitta group persisted with its slogan-shouting they were removed from the premises by the police.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 1, 1995
