Another Congress legislator quits Punjab assembly

In another embarrassment to the opposition Congress in Punjab, party legislator Arvind Khanna resigned from the state assembly Wednesday.

Khanna, a close confidant and relative of former chief minister and Congress leader Amarinder Singh, was elected legislator from Dhuri assembly seat in Sangrur district. He is also related to former union external affairs minister Natwar Singh.

There had been speculation in recent months that Khanna was going to quit the Congress and join the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal. He had not attended Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political rally in Barnala town during the Lok Sabha election campaign.

Khanna, however, maintained Wednesday he quit due to family and business interests and was not joining the Akali Dal. He had differences with state Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa.

Just before the recent Lok Sabha polls, another party legislator Jeet Mohinder Singh from Talwandi Sabo assembly seat quit and joined the Akali Dal.

He was the second sitting legislator to leave the Congress and join the Akali Dal after Joginder Pal Jain, the legislator from Moga. Jain later contested the bypoll on the Moga seat as an Akali Dal candidate and won.