Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said on Thursday that the Congress high command had allowed him to skip the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi as he had to appear for an examination at Panjab University in Chandigarh.
Channi, the MP from Jalandhar, said missing the paper would have delayed his master’s degree by a year and also held up the research work he wants to pursue. The CWC, the party’s highest decision-making body, met on Wednesday.
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Replying to a question on his absence from the meeting, Channi said, “I had sought written permission from the party high command that I won’t be able to attend the meeting on Wednesday.” He told reporters on the Panjab University campus, “Had I missed my paper, my degree would have got delayed by a year. And due to this, the research work, which I want to pursue, would have also got delayed.”
The marathon CWC meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, several top leaders and special invitees, as well as all four chief ministers of Congress-ruled states. It was held in the aftermath of the students’ agitation over paper leaks and the Ram temple donations row.
Channi holds a PhD in political science from Panjab University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public administration. Speaking about the course, he said, “Today was my last exam of Masters in Public Administration. I want to undertake research in policy reforms and will pursue a PhD programme in this regard from Panjab University here”.
He added, “My subject will be how reforms can be brought in policy and put Punjab on the development track,” and said he has been studying for the past four and a half years.
Expressing confidence that the Congress will form the next government, Channi said the party would bring in reforms so that a government employee would not be able to indulge in corruption.
He also spoke about free education and free health for people if the Congress forms the next government in the state, saying, “When Congress forms the government, we will implement this model.”
In sum, Channi said he missed the CWC meeting with the party’s approval so he could complete his examination and continue his planned research in policy reforms.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
