Rahul Gandhi skips meeting with Harish Rawat on Punjab Congress crisis

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi skipped the scheduled meeting on the crisis in party's Punjab unit with state in-charge Harish Rawat on Wednesday.

"There was a meeting scheduled with Rahul Gandhi but he got stuck somewhere. There was a meeting of the parliamentary strategic group also. I will request him to hold the meeting tomorrow. Today, no discussion has taken place," Rawat told reporters.

A meeting between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat was scheduled on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the Punjab unit of the party.

The meeting between Gandhi and Rawat was scheduled just a day after Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday sought to pitch himself high in leadership sweepstakes stating the opposition AAP has always recognised his vision and work for the state.

Sidhu spoke about his "Punjab model" and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recognising "who is fighting for Punjab".

Harish Rawat is AICC in-charge of Punjab and a member of the committee formed by the party to resolve issues concerning the state unit.

The Congress central leadership has been trying to find a way out of factionalism in the state unit ahead of Punjab assembly polls next year. It is seeking to bring about changes in the state unit by keeping the Chief Minister in the loop while also looking at a balance in terms of caste and community.

A panel had been constituted to hold talks with Amarinder Singh and party MLAs. Both the Chief Minister and Sidhu presented their views to the panel.

( With inputs from ANI )