New Delhi: Efforts to defuse the crisis in Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP) continued today (Dec 16, 2003) with the three-member All India Congress Committee (AICC) inviting dissident group leader and Agriculture Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal for talks.

The dissident Ministers had yesterday (Dec 15) given an ultimatum to the party high command that they would resign if their demand for removal of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was not met by this morning.

Bhattal held a meeting of the dissident group but received the call from the AICC group midway and decided to rush to Delhi. "We will decide on our next move only after meeting the AICC team," she said.

The Chief Minister also met Ahmed Patel, one of the three members of the AICC committee and discussed the present crisis with him.

Sources in the Chief Minister's group said, "the dissidents may have some grievances. We are open to addressing them, but not on the condition of changing the leadership."

Calling the ultimatum by the dissidents as mere "pressure tactics", they said, "The final word would be that of the party high command."

PTI