Chandigarh: Sunil Jakhar, former president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, has stated that Congress needs structural changes. He went on to say that he "didn't want another Charanjit Singh Channi situation where the change is worse than what you've replaced."
 
The veteran Congress leader stated that he does not envisage the party without Mrs Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, or Priyanka Gandhi. The Congress party replaced then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh with Charanjit Singh Channi, a Dalit. Following the replacement, the grand old party witnessed lots of chaos. Amarinder Singh, who was loyal to the Gandhi family, revolted against the party and formed a new party in the state.

Jakhar said a proper succession plan is required where the leader selected is a credible face. The party secured only 18 seats in the recently concluded Assembly election, losing power in one of the prominent states. The Aam Aadmi Party formed the government by winning 92 seats out of a total of 117 Assembly seats.
 
According to him, the Gandhis made a "poor character judgement" in putting their trust in Harish Rawat and Channi, but "the party needs them on board to ensure unity."

Following a power battle between former CM Amarinder Singh and state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Channi became the new CM. The argument resulted in Amarinder's expulsion from the party, but tensions lingered as party members publicly slammed each other.

The "Congress has been made the laughingstock of the nation," the leader remarked, blaming Channi, Rawat, Sidhu, and senior leader Ambika Soni for the defeat.
Jakhar slams Channi.

Jakhar blamed Channi for the poll debacle and
Jakhar blamed much of the fiasco on Channi, calling the Punjab election results a vote for change and a vote against Congress (the AAP won 92 assembly seats). He claimed that the replacement was worse than the party's previous changes. The Amarinder, at the very least, exuded aura and charisma.

Channi's key qualification was that he came from a humble family, was honest, and was a Dalit, but that image was shattered quickly after the ED raid on Channi's nephew and his colleagues. The ED had reportedly confiscated Rs. 10 crores from them.

Jakhar said that he refused to take charge as deputy chief minister of the state as he was not able to accept him as his leader. The senior Congress party man said that he expressed the same to the party leader, Rahul Gandhi.

He also spoke against senior Congress leader Ambika Soni, who is also from Punjab. He alleged that during the Congress party meeting held to decide the Punjab CM last year, Soni opposed his name for the Chief Minister’s post, even though he got the maximum votes among Punjab Congress members. She wanted a "Sikh" CM, he said.

He said that the party needs proper leadership to rejuvenate the party from the grassroots. He said the AAP, which promised a Delhi model government, would find it difficult to rule the state. He said it is not Delhi and there will be lots of changes in the situation, departments, bureaucracy, everything will be different here.

They promised to implement the Delhi model of government, especially in terms of school education, which the AAP government changed and constructed swimming pools there. But numbers in Punjab are different. He said Delhi did not have even 3,000 schools, whereas Punjab has 30,000 schools. The issue comes later. Let them provide hygienic conditions and drinking water for the students. That would be a difficult task for them, said Jakhar.