Sonia Gandhi held discussions with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday.
Highlights
- An 11-member coordination committee was also set up for the state
- The panel will have Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar as members
- The Congress had earlier announced committees for four other states
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has dissolved the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and all district committees in the state with immediate effect, while retaining Sunil Jakhar as the state unit chief.
The Congress also set up an 11-member committee for ensuring better coordination between the party and the Punjab government, with AICC in-charge for Punjab Asha Kumari as its chairperson. It will have Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar as members, besides AICC general secretary Ambika Soni.
The party released a statement in this regard on Tuesday, a day after Amarinder Singh held detailed discussions with Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. The Congress president has dissolved the "executive committee of the Pradesh Congress Committee and District Congress Committees of Punjab with immediate effect. The president of the Punjab PCC shall remain unchanged", it read.
The move comes at a time when the Punjab Congress is busy dousing internal fires emerging from discontent in the ranks, with Amarinder Singh pitted against Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Bajwa over the latter's call for a "Captain-Mukt Congress" in a recent interview to a television channel.
Amarinder Singh is widely referred to as "Captain" in the state.
Mr Bajwa had first taken on Amarinder Singh in 2012, after the Congress' defeat to the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine in the state elections. The party high command appointed him as the Punjab Congress chief in 2013, and it was only after a great struggle that Amarinder Singh was able to dethrone him two years later.
The cause of Mr Bajwa's discontent was a recent public declaration by Amarinder Singh that he will not quit politics "until every youngster in Punjab is employed".
On Monday, the Congress had announced coordination committees for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry.
(With inputs from PTI)