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Channi Supporters Demand His CM Candidacy

Amid the ongoing tussle within the Punjab Congress over its leadership ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, supporters of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans demanding that he be declared the party's chief ministerial face during a public meeting in Bathinda.

The meeting was attended by Punjab Congress in-charge and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

The sloganeering began as Raja Warring started addressing the gathering. He then called one of the slogan-raising supporters onto the stage and asked him to place a phone call to Charanjit Singh Channi. Supporters repeatedly demanded that the Congress leadership project Channi as the party's chief ministerial face for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. During the commotion, some supporters were also seen lifting chairs.

The incident comes amid visible jockeying within the Punjab Congress over leadership and the party's strategy for the next Assembly polls. As the protest disrupted the event, Raja Warring invited one of the vocal supporters onto the stage and offered to connect him via phone to Channi directly. While managing the unruly crowd and urging attendees to settle down, Warring addressed the dissent and defended party unity, while Channi's supporters continued to push for his leadership over the current state leadership.

Congress Protests Against AAP Govt Over Paper Leaks

Earlier in the day, Congress MLAs led by Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa staged a protest outside the Punjab Assembly during the Monsoon Session, accusing the AAP government of repeated examination paper leaks and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.

Speaking to ANI, Bajwa alleged that six examination paper leaks had taken place in the last four-and-a-half years, affecting around 3.5 lakh students. He also accused the state government of failing to address issues related to recruitment, law and order and governance. "In Punjab, exam papers have leaked six times over the last four and a half years--on a massive scale--affecting approximately 3.5 lakh students. We are also seeking the resignation of Harjot Bains. Bhagwant Mann is saying that there was no leak. We hold the Minister of Health responsible as well. I estimate that approximately 50 to 70 per cent of those who were given employment are non-Punjabis; that is why they are afraid to disclose the names. The entire system has collapsed under this government. The police force and police stations have been rendered ineffective," said Bajwa.

Congress MLA Sandeep Jakhar said the opposition would also raise the issue of the sanitation workers' protest, alleging that garbage had piled up across cities and sewerage systems had been affected due to the ongoing strike. "The most pressing, immediate issue is the filth accumulating across every city in Punjab for the past three weeks. Sewerage systems are backing up because the sanitation workers have been staging a sit-in protest for three weeks. When they approached the Punjab government to voice their grievances, they were met with lathi charges. I hope that during this monsoon session we will get time to discuss them," Jakhar told ANI.

BJP Slams Mann Government

Punjab BJP Working President Ashwani Sharma also criticised the Bhagwant Mann-led government, alleging that issues such as paper leaks, illegal mining and law and order remained unresolved despite the government being in office for over four years. "They have dragged things out for four and a half years. There has been no change in the issues since this government took office; this implies that the government has failed to resolve any of them. The most pressing issue today is the way the pharmacy exam paper was leaked using high-tech methods. The lathi-charge that took place in Barnala is not the first incident of its kind. Illegal mining was just as critical an issue before they came to power," Sharma said. (ANI)