Chandigarh: Having captained Indian hockey for 168 internationals, Pargat Singh now has the task of managing a very different team: the faction-ridden Punjab Congress. And he is bringing his team-first hockey playbook to bear — every player has a role.Pargat has inherited a party that spent much of the past few months squabbling, and now faces the challenge of translating his team philosophy into politics.A day after being named the Punjab Pradesh Congress president, he stuck to his stand that there may be differences of opinion, but not differences within the party. “I play like a full-back, standing at the rear to support everyone. We have very strong players in this team,” he told TOI.Asked if the prolonged differences had cost the party valuable time ahead of election, he drew another parallel with hockey. “This is exactly the kind of time I enjoy playing in,” said the hockey legend who slammed four goals in six minutes to draw with Germany in the 1985 Champions Trophy in Perth.Pargat led India at the 1990 World Cup and the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. “I look at it (politics) like a hockey field, where every player is important. We will play in our respective positions, and I believe that in the coming days you will see the difference. We have a very experienced and capable team,” Pargat told TOI.His immediate message has been one of continuity rather than confrontation. He has sought to keep former PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in the party’s larger scheme of things, acknowledging his work during his nearly four-year tenure.“Raja is a key player in our team. All the players are important and have their defined roles,” Pargat said, adding that he has spoken with Warring.“I think we have a very strong team. We have Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Bajwa and Partap Singh Bajwa. Besides that, we have leaders like Gurpreet Singh Aujla, who is an all-rounder, the kind of player you can put anywhere on the field,” he said. Pargat also indicated that those who work as team players will have a greater role in the organisation.The new PPCC chief played down the perception of deep factionalism in the party. “There is no factionalism. There are differences of opinion. This is not a politics of dictatorship. Within Congress, there is a politics of understanding, about how we can take our country and our state to a better place,” he said.Pargat said he would have no difficulty working with the party’s senior leaders and believed the respect was mutual. “They are very experienced people. I respect them and they respect me. I come from a professional background, and I don’t think there is any problem among us,” he said.Change in leadership should be seen as part of an ongoing organisational process, he said, adding: “Within the organisation, I was working as a secretary yesterday, someone else was working as a general secretary, and so on.”Pargat also outlined the political message he wants the Congress to take to the people, saying the party would focus on what he described as constructive politics rather than politics of hatred.“Punjab does not accept the politics of hatred that is happening in the country. Also, Punjab does not accept the kind of politics that Aam Aadmi Party is doing. Punjab talks about the welfare of everyone,” he said. He said Congress would work towards “constructive politics” and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood. “Whenever the country or anyone in any corner of the world needs Punjabis, Punjab stands with them. So this time, Punjabis will stand for Punjab,” he said.
