'Party in wrong hand, hard to defend nonsense': Punjab Congress spokesperson Pritpal Baliawal quits party

Ahead of the 2022 Punjab assembly polls, senior media panellist of the state Congress unit Pritpal Singh Baliawal has resigned from the party stating that the command of the Punjab unit of the party is in the "wrong hand".

In his resignation letter to interim chief of Congress Sonia Gandhi, Baliawal said that as a spokesperson it has become very hard for him to defend the "nonsense, anti-party and anti-government remarks and statements on ties to Pakistan".

This comes after Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu had called for trade talks with Pakistan stating that India-Pakistan friendship will increase trade.

He has also resigned from his responsibilities of National Coordinator and lncharge of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Kisan Congress.

"From 15 years, I honoured the responsibilities given by the party on various platforms to strengthen the organisation. With high regards to you now the party had given the command of Punjab in wrong hands, as a spokesperson, it has become very hard to defend the nonsense, anti-party, anti-government remarks along with his ties to Pakistan," Baliawal said in his letter.

"We were in a strong capacity to form the government in 2022 under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh and Sunil Kumar Jakhar but you decided to choose Sidhu although Mr. Charnjit Singh Channi was doing good the daily tweets by him is shrinking his (Sidhu) and the party image. Even in the Akali regime they registered false cases on my family and ruined my business but yet we stood by Congress. It hurt me again when the party gave the role to Jagdish Tytler," the letter read.

"So, I have decided to resign from the responsibilities of National Coordinator, lncharge of Haryana & Himachal Pradesh Kisan Congress along with the responsibility of Senior Media Panelist of Punjab Congress," it added.

Sidhu, earlier on Saturday, said that the India-Pakistan friendship will increase trade.

Sidhu had said, "If our friendship is increased with Pakistan then our business will also be increased. I admire our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's scheme when he started Aman Eman Bus Sewa from India to Pakistan."

The PCC chief had earlier stirred controversy by terming Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan his "elder brother".

Elections to 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly are scheduled to be held next year. In 2017 Assembly polls, Congress won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years. Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured 3 seats.

( With inputs from ANI )

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