New Delhi: The Congress on Friday suspended Patiala Lok Sabha MP Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, for anti-party activities, according to AICC Disciplinary Action Committee member secretary Tariq Anwar. The lawmaker has also been asked to explain in three days why she should not be expelled from the party amid fears that Kaur might be on the verge of joining the BJP, like her husband did in September 2022.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had forwarded the complaint from Punjab unit chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and other senior leaders that Preneet Kaur was indulging in some anti-party activities with the help of the BJP. Kharge had then referred the matter to the disciplinary action committee (DAC) for necessary action.
In its notice dated Feb 3, the DAC said it carefully considered the complaint against the Patiala MP and decided that Preneet Kaur should be suspended from the party with immediate effect. The notice further said that Preneet Kaur has been asked to explain in three days why she should not be expelled from the party over the anti-party activities.
The exit of former chief minister Amarinder Singh happened in a bitter way in November, 2021 after several party lawmakers led by former state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu rebelled against the veteran and demanded that he be replaced with a suitable person to beat the anti-incumbency in the 2022 assembly polls.
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Later, Amarinder Singh, who was asked to resign by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, floated his Punjab Lok Congress party, which contested the 2022 assembly polls along with the BJP.
The veteran merged his PLC with the BJP in September, 2022. Since then, relations between the Patiala MP and the party had not been smooth as many senior party leaders complained to AICC in charge of state Harish Chaudhary that Preneet Kaur had campaigned against the official candidate in Patiala in the 2022 assembly polls.
Congress insiders said that Preneet Kaur too was on her way to join the BJP after the saffron party recently roped in former finance minister Manpreet Badal and national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill. Earlier, former state unit chief Sunil Jakhar had joined the BJP.
After forcing Amarinder Singh to resign, the Congress brought in a Dalit Sikh face in Charanjit Singh Channi as the new chief minister ahead of the 2022 assembly polls to send a message among the voters. The party had also made Navjot Sidhu as the state unit chief. However, Sidhu never had a smooth relationship with Channi and this led to the party’s defeat in the assembly elections.
The party then brought in a relatively younger MLA Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the new state unit chief. Veteran leader Partap Singh Bajwa was made the CLP leader to take on the government of Bhagwant Mann in the House.
The Congress was upbeat over the public response to the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra which passed through Punjab in January. The party had played down the exit of Manpreet Badal during the yatra saying it was good that he left the Congress. “The Congress had always suspected that Amarinder Singh was playing into the hands of the BJP even before he resigned as chief minister. The new leadership will regroup the party in the state,” AICC Secretary in charge of Punjab Chetan Chauhan told ETV Bharat.
