# Channi skips Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha debate 2026-08-13T00:58:04+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Congress MP and former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi was absent from the Lok Sabha on Wednesday when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi spoke on the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026. Channi was instead in Faridkot protesting against the state government over an alleged paper leak. He was the only one among the seven Punjab Congress MPs who did not attend the debate, even as Amritsar MP Gurjit Singh Aujla sent a message urging them to be present from noon. The absence comes amid a factional rift in the Punjab Congress unit. The party has retained Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as state president while Channi chairs the campaign committee. NDTV reports that Channi and MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa shared a stage at Issru without Warring, deepening the perception of a divide. ## Coverage - thehansindia.com - ndtv.com Tags: Charanjit Singh Channi, Congress infighting, Lok Sabha, Punjab politics, Rahul Gandhi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/channi-skips-rahul-gandhis-lok-sabha-speech-amid-punjab-congress-rift/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/channi-skips-rahul-gandhis-lok-sabha-speech-amid-punjab-congress-rift/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.