Now Reading: Channi skips Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha debate
-
01
Channi skips Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha debate
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…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that Channi is openly defying the high command ignores his own statement after meeting Venugopal that 'all is well'. The other side, that the party is handling dissent smoothly, is contradicted by the public absence of both Channi and Warring from each other's events. The real test will be how many Punjab Congress MPs attend the next key party meeting or vote together in the House.
Sources (2): thehansindia.com, ndtv.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
