Rahul Gandhi today asked Congress MPs from Punjab to fight the ruling SAD-BJP combine there on people's issues aggressively ahead of next Lok Sabha elections.
His interaction with the MPs came a fortnight after the Punjab unit of Congress got a new PCC chief Pratap Singh Bajwa, who replaced Amarinder Singh, who had led the party in the Assembly elections last year in which the party had lost to SAD-BJP combine.
The MPs said the central leaders of the party including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief Sonia Gandhi should visit the states more often more so when ambitious schemes and projects are launched by the Centre in the states.
They felt that works done by the Centre for the state are otherwise appropriated by the Opposition parties ruling Punjab, who pass these off as their own achievements.
There were also voices about the need for proper monitoring of the spending of the central fund for schemes in the states and Gandhi asked the party MPs to be vigilant in this regard.
The party leaders said though Congress lost the Assembly election last year in Punjab, it remain firm on the ground and has a strong organisational base, which could see it reverse its electoral fortunes any time if coordinated work was done.
Former Union minister Ambika Soni, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, Bajwa and Minister of State for External Affairs Praneet Kaur were among those present in the meeting.
