LUDHIANA: Dissidence in the Punjab Congress Legislature Party is gaining momentum as Chief Minister Harcharan Singh Brar is trying to present a clean image of his Cabinet.

 

The expansion of the Punjab Cabinet by Mr. Brar last week has left many Congress legislators sore and they are trying to regroup themselves, Beant Singh loyalists are sullen over the “treatment” being meted out to them by the Chief Minister. Sources close to the loyalists say they will adopt a “wait and see” policy and are not in a hurry ten strike back. ‘They say there were 36 ministers in the Beant Singh Cabinet and only nine of them have been taken in the Brar Cabinet. This suggests, they say, that he remaining 27 are “corrupt” and Beant Singh was heading a corrupt ministry.

Mr. Beant Singh loyalists say though Brar claims to follow the policies of Beant Singh, so far he has only tried to “demolish” what the slain leader had done for the state.

A senior Congress leader of Punjab says: “We have elected Brar unanimously leader of the Congress Legislature Party and are not going to react to his actions. The party high command will take note of his actions?

The rival camp alleges that Brar is using the name of Partap Singh Kairon to win over the people of the state. But he forgets that Kairon was also a “tainted” leader as he had been indicted by the Das Commission, any Beant loyalists.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s camp is not “bothered” about the actions of the Beant Singh loyalists as Mr. Brar has complete freedom given to him by a party high command in selecting men with a “clean image” for induction into the Cabinet.

Reports indicate that Brar may be given the charge of the Punjab Pradesh congress, too despite opposition from his rivals. The party high command is said to be convinced that Punjab’s situation warrants that both offices should be held by one person. The Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, will take the final decision on the issue. Congress legislators from Ludhiana are also sore over the fact that none of them has been taken into the Cabinet.

The position of Maninderjit Singh Bitta, who had extended support to Brar after the assassination of Beant Singh, has also suffered a setback as he has not been included in the Cabinet.

Article extracted from this publication >> October 20, 1995