An inner discord within the Punjab Congress got here to the fore after a video of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi surfaced on social media during which he could possibly be heard looking for illustration for Dalits within the occasion.
The Jalandhar MP, nonetheless, asserted he didn’t communicate in opposition to any specific caste or neighborhood, and that he was a sufferer of malicious propaganda on social media.
Whereas talking throughout a gathering of the occasion’s Scheduled Caste (SC) wing in Chandigarh on Saturday (January 17, 2026), Mr. Channi stated, “In Punjab, in case you settle for that there’s a inhabitants of 35-38% (of Dalits), which is there, then why are we not getting illustration.”
He additionally stated, “Punjab (Congress) president is from higher caste, CLP chief is from higher caste, girls wing of Punjab Congress from higher caste, Punjab (Congress) normal secretary from higher caste? The place can we go? The place will these individuals go?”
Mr. Channi, a distinguished occasion chief from the Dalit neighborhood, was accompanied within the assembly by Rajendra Gautam, the chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s SC division.
At current, the highest posts within the Punjab Congress are held by Jat Sikh faces.
Punjab Congress president is Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, and the chief of the opposition is Partap Singh Bajwa.
The matter is prone to be taken up in a gathering referred to as by the occasion excessive command of state occasion leaders on January 23, in keeping with a supply from the Congress.
Amid the developments, Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon on Monday (January 19) requested Mr. Channi to hitch the BJP, saying he’ll discover dignity and respect.
“@CHARANJITCHANNI ji, I as a proud Punjabi, imagine your stand on Dalit illustration reveals management and secular values. In @BJP4Punjab, you will discover respect, dignity, and actual alternative to serve each neighborhood. Let’s work collectively for Punjab’s future,” stated Mr. Dhillon in a put up on
The Punjab Meeting Polls are due in 2027.
In the meantime, Mr. Warring stated Mr. Channi, as a Congress Working Committee (CWC) member, holds the “greatest put up” within the occasion.
On Sunday (January 18), when the Punjab Congress chief was requested about Mr. Channi’s alleged feedback, he stated, “The largest place is that of a CWC member. Who’s that? That’s Charanjit Singh Channi saab… I don’t need to go into any media report. Channi saab can’t say this. He has the most important put up.”
He additionally stated that Sunil Jakhar was eliminated when Mr. Channi was appointed because the chief of the Congress Legislature Celebration in Punjab, “as a result of there isn’t any discrimination within the Congress.”
Mr. Jakhar, who’s now with the BJP, is a Jat chief.
“In the present day, Channi is an MP despite the fact that he misplaced elections in two meeting seats. He was made an MP and a CWC member. Channi saab can be the chairman of the parliamentary committee on agriculture,” Mr. Warring stated.
“Who was turning into the Chief Minister? It was Sukhjinder Randhawa or Amar Singh. However who (in the end) grew to become one? It was Channi saab. Dalits are the crowns on our heads and can at all times be,” he added.
After the Congress eliminated Amarinder Singh from the put up of Chief Minister unceremoniously in 2021, Mr. Channi was picked for the put up.
Mr. Channi, nonetheless, misplaced two meeting seats — Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur — within the 2022 Meeting polls.
Mr. Warring asserted that Congress, being a secular occasion, doesn’t play politics on faith and caste.
“If Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have been to take action, we would have been in energy just like the BJP,” he stated, alleging that it’s the saffron occasion that indulges in polarization.
The drama continued to unfold, with Mr. Channi on Monday (January 19) alleging {that a} propaganda was being waged in opposition to him.
“For the previous one or two days, false propaganda was being run in opposition to me on social media and tv channels, claiming that I spoke in opposition to a caste or neighborhood … I didn’t communicate in opposition to anybody anyplace, nor can I communicate in opposition to anybody. I’ve at all times revered all religions,” he stated in a video message.
The previous Punjab Chief Minister stated he firmly believes within the philosophy of Guru Sahiban — “Manas ki jaat sabhe ek pehchanbo” (See your entire human race as one).
He thanked the Congress and stated, “Punjab is a bouquet during which there are totally different castes and religions. We have now to increase this bouquet. When the occasion can be a bouquet, each part will get illustration, and it takes everybody alongside. Then, the federal government is fashioned. That is what I say, and it’s unsuitable to hyperlink it to casteism.” In the meantime, Congress MP from Patiala, Dharamvira Gandhi, wrote on Fb that he was “so sad, so unhappy.” “The Congress occasion, particularly its faction-ridden Punjab unit, is bereft of deep politics,” he stated.
The lawmaker additionally advised that the upcoming Punjab Youth Congress elections be deferred for at the very least one-and-a-half to 2 years, arguing that holding organizational elections near the Meeting polls might deepen divisions inside the occasion.
Revealed – January 20, 2026 02:11 am IST