Sidhu has withdrawn resignation as Punjab Congress chief, will resume duties: Harish Rawat

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has withdrawn his resignation as Punjab Congress chief and will resume his duties, said senior party leader Harish Rawat on Friday.

"He (Sidhu) shared his concerns with Rahul Gandhi. We have told him that his concerns will be taken care of here. He assured Rahul Gandhi that he has withdrawn his resignation and he will resume his duties as the PCC president," Rawat told reporters here.

Rawat's remarks came after a meeting between Sidhu and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday at the latter's residence.

The meeting of the two leaders came at a time when Sidhu's rebellious attitude towards the recently appointed Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is quite visible.

Sidhu who is in the national capital had also met Congress in-charge of Punjab Harish Rawat and party general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday.

Sidhu had tendered his resignation as Punjab Congress chief on September 28. He was reportedly upset over the bureaucratic setup and his commands not being followed after Cabinet expansion in Punjab. But his resignation was not accepted by the party.

According to sources in the party, the high command was not happy with the resignation of Sidhu and no such meeting with central leadership happened after his resignation.

Sidhu, after his resignation, had said he will always stand by party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

Sidhu's resignation as state party chief has intensified the crisis in the Punjab Congress as a minister and three Congress leaders, considered close to him, stepped down from their posts.

This came as a big blow to the Congress that was hoping to resolve the turmoil in the Congress unit of Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections early next year.

Charanjeet Singh Channi took oath as the 16th Chief Minister of Punjab on September 20, days after Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down from the post of Punjab Chief Minister following months of infighting between him and Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Captain Amarinder Singh had resigned as Chief Minister on September 18 and had told the media that the Congress leadership had let him down. He had also taken a dig at Sidhu over his resignation, saying he is not a stable man.

Sidhu was made PCC chief by Congress leadership in July to stem infighting in Punjab Congress ahead of next year's assembly polls but the party is now grappling with a fresh crisis.

( With inputs from ANI )