Punjab Congress chief takes a dig at G-23 leaders

A day after the group of dissenting Congress leaders’ (G-23) show of strength in Jammu, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Sunday invited them to join the party’s protest against fuel prices and cooking gas on March 1.

Mr. Jakhar said for these senior leaders, the demonstration could prove to be a “refresher course for the beginning of people-related politics”.

He said right now the time is to do the politics of struggle instead of the politics of policy and invited them to the State unit’s programme to gherao the Raj Bhavan.

Senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and Raj Babbar should hit the streets and raise people’s issues, he said.

Though the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was cautious in not precipitating the internal rift, Mr. Jakhar’s statement is being seen as the central leadership’s counter to the Jammu show of strength.

Mr. Jakhar said former party chief Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised awareness against the agriculture laws from Punjab itself.

“Following such a trail, wake up the Narendra Modi government by raising the voice of the people against inflation. This will make the party even stronger,” he said in response to Mr. Sibal’s reported statement that the Congress had become weak and needed to be strengthened.