At a public meeting, Manish Tewari and Jasbir Singh Gill Dimpa criticized their party leaders for creating Hindu-Sikh tensions in Punjab. Addressing his own party members, Tewari referred to them as "ISI agents."
During his campaign in Garhshankar for the party candidate, Manish Tewari claimed that there is no Hindu-Sikh divide in Punjab. Anyone who tries to create this false division is an agent of the ISI.
Despite a request for comment, Tewari didn't reveal the name, but sources have speculated that the message may be directed at Ambika Soni, a top party member who called for the election of a Sikh Chief Minister following Amarinder Singh's exit.
Jasbir Singh Gill Dimpa also took aim at Harish Chaudhary, coordinator of the party's AICC. Dimpa tweeted: "Correctly said @sunilkjakhar, immature, incapable, corrupt people like THUG OF BARMER are to blame for the mess we find ourselves in Pb Congress."
There is tension between both leaders and the party central leadership. The Congress has also omitted Manish Tewari from the list of star campaigners, the only non-Sikh party MP from the state.
Tewari was one of the G-23 leaders who signed the letter to Sonia Gandhi, a prominent figure in the party.Tewari was one of the G-23 leaders who signed the letter to Sonia Gandhi, a prominent figure in the party.
The Punjab has a populace of 40 per cent Hindus and a significant migration from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the sources said.
In 2014, senior party leader Ambika Soni unsuccessfully ran for the seat in Anandpur Sahib, a stronghold for the Sikh faith, and Tewari won the seat in 2019.
As the only Hindu elected to the Lok Sabha from Punjab , Tewari supporters say the omission from the star campaigners list is disappointing. They ask what kind of message the party is sending to Hindu voters by excluding Tewari from the list.
According to sources, Tewari is thought to be close to Amarinder Singh, which might explain why he didn't make the star campaigners' list.