Chandigarh: Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa met Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday in the backdrop of the turmoil with Punjab Congress, triggering intense speculation.Randhawa, a former deputy CM, had to issue a statement to “refute the mischievous political slant” being given to the meeting, saying it was scheduled earlier in connection with his representation on the “deterioration of law and order in Punjab”. Randhawa was recently appointed chairman of Punjab Congress core committee, but has neither publicly reacted to it nor lauded the party leadership following the announcement of the election-related organisational appointments, fuelling speculation that he was unhappy with the decisions. However, Randhawa dismissed the speculations. Coming out in Randhawa’s defence, former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said attempts to give a political colour to the meeting were “highly regrettable and inappropriate”. In a post on social media, Gehlot said Randhawa belonged to one of Punjab’s most respected political families. He recalled that Randhawa’s father and former Punjab Congress president, Santokh Singh Randhawa, fearlessly stood for the unity and integrity of the country during the militancy period and was among the few politicians who openly spoke against militancy from public platforms. Gehlot said Randhawa carried forward that legacy by taking a firm stand against anti-national forces and took strict action against such elements during his tenure as Punjab home minister. He added that Randhawa and his family continue to receive threats because of their uncompromising stand in the national interest, making it the govt’s moral and constitutional responsibility to ensure their security. In such circumstances, Gehlot said, meeting the Union home minister on the issue was a “normal and necessary process and should not be given a political colour”. During the meeting with Shah, Randhawa handed over a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his urgent intervention in what he described as the “catastrophic deterioration” of law and order in Punjab’s international border belt. In the memorandum, Randhawa claimed the situation had gone beyond a conventional law-and-order issue and had become a matter of national security. He alleged that Punjab’s border districts, including Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka, were witnessing Pakistan-sponsored terror modules, drone-based smuggling of narcotics and weapons, organised extortion rackets operated from abroad, and the “political misuse of Punjab Police”. The Congress MP cited a series of incidents in support of his concerns, including the killing of an ASI and homeguard jawan in Gurdaspur in Feb 2026 and grenade attacks on police establishments.
