Chandigarh: Punjab Congress has come under political scrutiny amid differing demands from its own leaders over the nature of the probe into the suicide by Punjab State Warehousing Corporation district manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, even as the party asserted that its approach is part of a coordinated strategy for justice.The issue gained momentum after four of seven party MPs from Punjab, including Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurjit Singh Aujla, Charanjit Singh Channi and Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, met Union home minister Amit Shah and raised concerns over the death, seeking a CBI inquiry. The MPs’ move followed an assurance from Shah to consider handing over the probe to CBI, subject to a written request.At the same time, leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring have called for a court-monitored investigation, leading to a perception that the party is not on the same page. Responding to the controversy, Bajwa dismissed suggestions of a division and asserted the party was united in its fight for justice for Gagandeep Singh Randhawa. He accused BJP and AAP of peddling a “false, binary narrative” to mislead people, adding the reality was far more nuanced.Bajwa said the party’s MPs raised the demand for a CBI inquiry before the Union home minister in Parliament as it was the constitutional route to formally seek such an investigation. However, he added one could not simultaneously ask the home minister to order a probe and question the credibility of that authority in the same forum. He said concerns about possible influence were being addressed through a separate institutional mechanism, noting that as leader of the opposition he wrote to the Chief Justice of India, seeking a court-monitored investigation to ensure that any CBI probe remains independent, transparent and free from interference.He described this as a “multi-layered strategy” aimed at securing accountability from every angle, asserting the party was guided by one principle alone, justice for Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, and that no propaganda or oversimplification could shake that resolve. Warring also clarified that he has not opposed the CBI inquiry, but only insisted that any investigation must be done under the supervision of a sitting high court or Supreme Court judge.He refuted the suggestion that he had opposed the demand for a CBI inquiry. He clarified that he, personally, felt that even a CBI inquiry could not be foolproof, as the agency had a poor record of taking cases to a logical conclusion. Moreover, he added, the agency had lost its credibility under the BJP regime.Making things clear, he said, he stood by party MPs. He said he did not sign the letter since he was not in Delhi that day, but in Khatkar Kalan in connection with the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh.He disclosed the matter was raised by Aujla, who demanded an NIA inquiry since the family had revealed that Gagandeep had been threatened by gangsters. He said the Union home minister had asked the party MPs to give in writing, and he would order a CBI inquiry. “Now so many days have passed, why has the HM not ordered the inquiry?” he said.He reiterated that everyone in Congress wanted justice for the family. “If my colleagues have demanded a CBI probe, I want it to be monitored by the high court so that there is no scope for manipulation,” he said, adding the BJP and AAP were working in collusion, and that was why he had been insisting on judicial oversight of the inquiry. Bittu, Majithia target WarringBJP leader and Union minister of state for railways & food processing industries Ravneet Singh Bittu on Wednesday expressed “great concern”, claiming that Warring was opposing the CBI probe into warehousing official Gagandeep Singh Randhawa’s suicide case. “The Punjab Congress president, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who is also an MP, is saying that he does not want a CBI inquiry at all. I respectfully want to say to him that whether you believe it or not: this demand has not come from us, it has come from the family,” he said.Bittu accused Congress party of becoming subservient to CM Bhagwant Mann Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia, in a written statement, accused Warring’s of “aiding Punjab govt and the CM”. “While leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has demanded a CBI probe, Raja Warring has taken a contrary stand and opposed the demand, deviating from his party’s position,” Majithia said.Majithia accused Warring of “helping the govt suppress a sensitive case”.
