New Delhi, July 14: With return of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi from foreign tour, the Congress on Tuesday held a detailed meeting to discuss several issues including the factionalism in the Punjab unit of the party as well as the Karnataka cabinet expansion, sources said.
According to party sources, Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal met at 10 Rajaji Marg to review the situation in Punjab as well as other current political situation.
The source said that the meeting which lasted for over two hours, the top leaders are learnt to have discussed the report of Punjab incharge Bhupesh Baghel, who is said to have shared it via email with the party leadership.
Baghel hd spent over six days in Punjab amid the internal fighting in the state and held sever round of consultations with leaders in the state.
Before his return to Raipur on Saturday, Baghel had also met the warring faction led by former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, and most leaders from his camp at the residence of Rana Gurjeet in Chandigarh
The meeting comes at a crucial time when the grand old party has been battling an increasingly public leadership tussle in Punjab.
The crisis centres around Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, whose continuation as the state unit president has been challenged by a section led by Channi and senior leaders like Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The dissenting camp leaders argued that a change in the state leadership is necessary to unite the organisation before the Assembly polls.
However, the Congress high command has so far refused to alter its decision, reiterating its support for Warring while warning leaders against indiscipline and public factionalism.
The source also said that the three leaders also discussed several organisation issues and the Chhatron ki Goonj programme of the Rae Bareli MP in Dehradun on July 17 to highlight the plight of students over the recent paper leaks.
The source further asserted that the three leaders are also learnt to have discussed the issue of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya donation embezzlement issue on which the party has taken a form stand to corner the BJP.
