Congress rejects Sunil Jakhar’s resignation

After nearly five months of his putting in papers, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Saturday rejected the resignation of senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar as president of Punjab Congress Committee (PPCC).

The AICC incharge of Punjab Asha Kumari, in a communique to the Punjab unit of the party, asked Jakhar to continue steering the party with his able guidance and astute leadership. As per the communique, Jakhar has been asked to "carry on the good work as usual", which categorically rejects his resignation as the PPCC chief.

The decision has been taken by the Congress high command after taking note of the “good work” done by Jakhar as the State party leader.

The Punjab Congress rank and file “has always drawn inspiration and confidence from your informed and compulsive style of leadership,” Asha Kumari said, adding that “Congress and its leaders would keep raising their voice against the tyrannical policies of the oppressive Modi regime.

Underlining the need to further strengthen the party cadre at the grassroots, Asha Kumari asked Jakhar to be the voice of the party, as he had been in the past, in taking the liberal and secular credentials of the grand old party to each and every doorstep.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has welcomed the decision, terming it in the interest of the party as Jakhar was a seasoned grassroots leader in Punjab, where he had done immense work on the ground and built a strong party cadre.

Jakhar had resigned to the then Congress President Rahul Gandhi on May 23, taking moral responsibility for his defeat from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat.

Jakhar had lost the Gurdaspur seat to actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol by a margin of 82,459 votes. He had won the seat in by-polls in October 2017 that fell vacant after the death of BJP MP Vinod Khanna.

Jakhar was unavailable for comments.

The Chief Minister had then termed the resignation offer as ‘totally unnecessary’, given the ‘impressive performance of the party in the State.’ He had even said there was absolutely no reason for Jakhar to quit.