He said that to concentrate on the upcoming polls in Uttarakhand, it had been on his mind to seek to be relieved of the responsibility of the party's Punjab affairs in-charge.
The Union government had recently amended the BSF Act to authorise the border guarding force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a 50 km stretch, up from the existing 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
The chief minister further expressed the way he has been feeling about lakhs of men and women, and especially senior citizens, who can barely breathe in the toxic air, which is currently evolving in Delhi.
Directly questioning the party's high command's decision on the appointment of Sidhu as the new Punjab Congress chief, Jakhar said that the person who was trying to patch up the rift between Captain Amarinder Singh and Sidhu was forgotten by the Congress party.
Three Union ministers and farmer leaders will meet in Chandigarh at 6 pm to discuss their demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP for crops and farm debt waiver.
'His success confirms that the infirm 132-year-old party can still get to its feet if it allows regional leaders to come to the fore,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Ahead of a likely organisational and government reshuffle in Punjab, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met poll strategist Prashant Kishor at his residence.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on the tussle between Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and disgruntled Punjab Congressman Navjot Singh 'Sherry' Sidhu, former cricketer and television personality.
Sidhu said that the corridor would promote peace and erase "enmity" between India and Pakistan and create infinite possibilities between them, including the resumption of cricket ties.
The war of words between the two leaders began after Singh, addressing a press conference at Chandigarh on Sunday, described as "theatrics" Kejriwal's announcement earlier during that day that he will observe a one-day fast on Monday in support of the protesting farmers.
A meeting of the Punjab Congress Legislative Party, which was slated for 11 am on Sunday, has been deferred, with party sources saying that a consensus is yet to be made on the name of the new CLP leader.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the weekend's whirlwind political developments in Punjab.
"Indian National Congress welcomes S Navjot Singh Sidhu into the Congress family and we thank Congress vice president for his visionary approach in bringing together like-minded people on common platform under the Congress umbrella," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a statement.
The estimated costs of these weddings start from Rs 100 crore and go up to Rs 700 crore.
'Sidhu's suggestions regarding formation of the new government were completely ignored, so he stepped down.' 'Channi's government is walking on the same path as Amarinder Singh's.'
Kishor had handled the Congress poll campaign in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections. The Congress in 2017 had stormed to power by bagging 77 seats in the 117-member assembly.
"The two (the Pradesh Congress Committee chief and the chief minister) consult each other, but the final decision is of Channi, who is the chief minister, not Sidhu," the former chief minister told reporters at the Chandigarh airport.
Congress candidate from Amritsar Amarinder Singh on Friday held Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal allegedly accountable for Operation Bluestar. At a press conference, he said, "It was Parkash Singh Badal who during the troubled period had instigated the innocent youth to disturb the peaceful situation of Punjab and later he met the then home minister urging him to go ahead with Operation Blue Star."
In a letter to Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Singh said it is a historic occasion, but regretted his inability to be present.
Despite heavy security deployment, groups of farmers from Punjab managed to reach near two Delhi border points on Friday morning after breaking police barricades in Haryana.
The former Punjab Congress chief had been upset with the party for serving him a show-cause notice.
'The BJP will not win a single seat in Punjab.'
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal (94) became the country's oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi on Monday.
The Punjab government has declared a holiday on Thursday as a mark of respect to the former chief minister.
The top Congress leadership has not accepted Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation and adopting a wait and watch policy.
His son and ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh lit the funeral pyre.
The Punjab CM said a young leader with a forward-looking approach would "galvanise" the rank and file of the party after the "unfortunate" resignation of Gandhi.
The Congress leader tweeted his request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Pakistan PM Imran Khan's announcement that the IAF pilot would be released on March 1.
It has been a double whammy for the cricketer-turned-politician since there is already an outcry over his visit to Pakistan.
Dismissing the accusation, Singh asked why would the state government stop Kejriwal from holding a press conference when he was allowed to hold a party programme a few days back.
Nearly five years ago when he joined the Congress, ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu had said he is a 'born Congressman' now coming back to his roots.
The strategist is expected to visit Punjab for 2-3 days in mid-February for an early assessment.
Election rallies have been on for weeks, but nothing captures the immediacy of an election like the sight of candidates filing their nomination papers.
Union ministers Arjun Munda, Piyush Goyal and Nityanand Rai and farmer leaders from Punjab will meet on Sunday for the fourth round of talks.
'Everything else is a sham.'
A case against Majithia under various sections of the NDPS Act was registered on the basis of a 2018 status report of probe into the drug racket in the state.
The Akali Dal is convinced that Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh are part of a bigger plan to create a law and order problem in the state, leading to the imposition of central rule and even the exclusion of Punjab from the Lok Sabha polls as was done in 1991.
The Congress is likely to declare its chief ministerial face for Punjab on February 6 when former party chief Rahul Gandhi will visit the poll-bound state, party sources said.
In his first speech at Rajasthan's Barmer, from where expelled Bhartiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is contesting as an independent, party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did not utter a single word against the former party stalwart.
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is all set to take Punjab's close business as well as people-to-people relations with Canada to the next level, with a one-to-one meeting with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday, said an official spokesperson.
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