Amarinder takes exception to party MP's take Bhagwant Mann in Congress fold comment

Taking exception to Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu's suggestion on bringing AAP leader Bhagwant Mann into the Congress fold, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today urged all party leaders to refrain from making such public statements.

It was the prerogative of the party high command to take any decision on induction of leaders from other parties into the Congress, Amarinder Singh said adding that no party MP, MLA or other leader should come out with public statements in this regard.

The chief minister's remarks came after a section of the media quoted Bittu as suggesting that Mann should be brought into the Congress.

If they have any opinion on any such matter, they should share suggestions in party forums, said Amarinder Singh.

Such statements, the chief minister said, could fuel speculation which could be detrimental to the Congress party's interest in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

Expressing surprise at Bittu's reported statement that AAP's Sangrur MP Mann should be inducted into the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Amarinder Singh said Bittu should have conveyed his views either to the party general secretary or the state Congress president or to him.

As a democratic organisation, the Congress could have discussed Bittu's opinion internally, with the final decision resting on the high command, said the chief minister adding that as per the party rules special permission of the Congress president was required for induction of members of parliament into the party.

Bittu is a senior Congress leader and well aware of the systems and processes that need to be followed in such cases, said Amarinder Singh. Using a public forum to air views on party related matters was against the constitutional ethos of the party, he said.

The media is not the proper forum to raise or discuss internal party matters, said the chief minister, asking Congress leaders to follow a disciplined approach on such issues.