It was meant to be a show of unity but turned into a political roast. A day-long marathon meeting between Punjab Congress leaders and the party’s central leadership in Chandigarh spilled over into a political war of words, with a video showing several senior Congress leaders squeezed into a single SUV becoming fodder for mockery by the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The video, shared by BJP and AAP leaders, shows Congress leader Sachin Pilot driving the SUV, with Congress general secretary KC Venugopal seated in the front passenger seat. Punjab Congress leaders Partap Singh Bajwa, Charanjit Singh Channi, Raja Warring and Pargat Singh appear squeezed into the rear seat, triggering a wave of sarcastic political commentary. “Punjab Congress is sitting in the laps of the leaders from Delhi! Neither is Pilot from Moga nor is Venugopal from Hoshiarpur! The jibe was aimed at the presence of the central leadership alongside Punjab’s senior Congress leaders, with Pannu also highlighting that Pargat Singh, the state Congress president, appeared to have been left without enough space in the vehicle. “The leaders from Delhi have tied up the Punjab Congress into a bundle and thrown it into the car.
Poor state president Pargat Singh did not even get a seat,” Pannu said in a sarcastic post. But I request the media to keep an eye on whether they manage to get out of the car safely or not,” Bittu said.
Congress leader Durlabh Singh, considered close to former Punjab Congress chief Raja Warring, retaliated against Pannu by sharing a video of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hanging from a moving vehicle during an AAP roadshow, while party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was inside the vehicle or positioned through its sunroof.
