Congress leader Rahul Gandhi unlikely to attend oath-taking ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab CM

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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Charanjit Singh Channi as Punjab`s new Chief Minister in Chandigarh on Monday (September 20, 2021). 

According to an ANI report, the gathering at the ceremony will be a small one and some other leaders will also not be attending.

Meanwhile, Charanjit Singh Channi is scheduled to take the oath as the 16th Chief Minister of the state at 11 am today.

Channi was unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Punjab and is set to take over as next Chief Minister following Captain Amarinder Singh`s resignation.

Former CM Amarinder Singh stepped down from the post of Punjab Chief Minister on Saturday following months of infighting between him and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. After submitting his resignation to state Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Singh had said that he felt "humiliated" adding that he had been summoned thrice by the central leadership in the past two months.

These developments came months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.

Channi, a Dalit leader, was Technical Education Minister in the outgoing Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh`s cabinet and will be the first Dalit to hold the chief minister`s post in the state.On Sunday, Congress` in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat had said that Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

According to the official website of the Punjab Government, Channi remained Municipal Councilor for three terms and moved on to become the President of Municipal Council Kharar for a two-term.

He was elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Chamkaur Sahib Consistency for the first time in 2007. He was elected to the assembly seat again in 2012 and then in 2017.

In 2015, Channi was elected as Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Punjab Vidhan Sabha. In 2017, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister for Technical Education and Industrial Training, Employment Generation and also Science and Technology in the government of Punjab. 

(With ANI inputs)