Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday, 3 August launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its deepening internal divisions, asserting that the party is consumed by factional battles and has little bandwidth left for the people of Punjab. Mann's remarks come as fault lines within the Punjab Congress have widened visibly over the past week.

Mann's Broadside on Congress

Speaking to reporters, Mann did not hold back. 'Good luck to the Congress for its ongoing fight. They keep fighting for positions and chairs. Earlier too, they had a rate list where the Chief Minister's post was allegedly worth Rs 500 crore, while other ministerial posts were assigned different amounts,' he said.

He went further, alleging that the Congress is producing 'dealers instead of leaders' — a pointed jab at the party's internal culture. Referring to recent intra-party clashes in Sangrur, Barnala, and Mansa, Mann dismissed Congress claims that his government was instigating those disputes. 'They fought among themselves in Sangrur, Barnala, and Mansa, yet they keep claiming that Bhagwant Mann is sending people there. What is the need for that?' he said.

The Baghel Factor

Mann also trained his sights on Bhupesh Baghel, the Congress General Secretary In-Charge for Punjab, whose visit to the state has apparently done little to calm internal tensions. 'Bhupesh Baghel was appointed by their own party, but today they are not even accepting him,' Mann said, referring to reported 'Go Back, Baghel' posters that surfaced during the party's outreach exercise.

Baghel had been present at a party meeting in Barnala on 2 August, alongside Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, as part of a grassroots strengthening drive. Supporters of former Punjab Chief Minister and sitting Member of Parliament Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans in his favour on two consecutive days at the meeting, signalling open defiance of the party leadership.

Channi-Warring Fault Line Widens

The factional tensions had already sharpened on the preceding Friday, when Channi visited the residence of suspended former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur — a move widely read as a direct political signal to PPCC chief Warring. The visit underscored the extent to which the Congress's Punjab unit is grappling with competing power centres ahead of the next assembly election cycle.

Paper Leak Row and BJP Allegations

Separately, Mann pushed back against allegations of a paper leak in Punjab, attributing the accusations to political targeting by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 'No paper leak has happened in Punjab. The BJP is still unable to recover from what happened earlier. They did not expect Gen Z to protest on such a large scale, and Arvind Kejriwal supported them. Sonam Wangchuk was also there. Now they are targeting the Punjab government and trying to defame us,' he said.

Mann clarified that the matter involved only instances of digital cheating, not a systemic leak. 'There was a minor issue related to cheating. Digital cheating was taking place, and action was taken against those involved,' he said. When asked about the forthcoming Punjab Assembly elections, he offered a terse response: 'Let's see who all will lose.'

With Congress's Punjab unit visibly fractured and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government keen to keep the spotlight on that disarray, the coming weeks will test whether the grand old party can restore discipline before the electoral calendar tightens.