Chandigarh, July 7 -- Jalandhar MP and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has opted to skip the key meeting of the Punjab Congress called by AICC State in-charge Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday amid a growing rift in the state unit of the party.

Apart from Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also skipped the meet. Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Raja Warring stried to play down the absence claiming that both Channi and Randhawa had informed the PPCC meeting's chairman that they are out of town and will be available after a couple of days.

Channi along with a group of loyalists, is reportedly in Delhi to lodge their complaints over the recent leadership shuffle of the party's state unit. The comes as the party starts preparing f...