Punjab Congress Crisis: Navjot Singh Sidhu targets CM Amarinder Singh again; says he is fighting the system

There seems to be no end in sight for the trouble in Congress’ Punjab unit as former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has once again hit out at Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh questioning his style of functioning.

Cricketer-turned-politician, Sidhu, who is at the centre of a raging rebellion in the ruling Punjab Congress, has accused the Chief Minister of lying about his meetings with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders

“Trash! He lies every day. He said things about my meetings (with AAP). Has he proved it?. What nonsense he is talking about? Talk about issues. Why is he showing his back to issues such beadbi, loan waiver, and white paper? What have you done about drugs? Give your report card,” Sidhu told Hindustan Times in response to a question about Captain Amarinder Singh’s allegations about him trying to be the Deputy CM with a charge of home dept.

READ: Trouble in Congress’ Punjab unit is latest example of a weakening high command

Sidhu, who has had a troubled relationship with the CM since the party came to power in Punjab in 2017, said he will not let others use him just as a showpiece during campaigns.

“I am not a showpiece that you will take me out campaigning, win the elections and then keep me back in the almirah. So that I can see how you do mining, how you do this, how you do that. And selfish vested interests overriding the interests of the state. This is unbearable for me,” Sidhu told Indian Express.

Sidhu had joined the Congress after leaving the BJP before the 2017 assembly elections.

Earlier this month a three-member panel set up by party chief Sonia Gandhi to resolve infighting had recommended that Amarinder Singh is fit to be the leader of the party in the state but Sidhu should also be given a key role.
Sidhu and Singh were involved in a war of words recently after a High Court order scrapped the report of a Special Investigation Team in the Guru Granth Sahib desecration case, and asked the state to set up a new team.

Punjab is one of three states ruled by Congress. The other two states where the party is in power are Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Congress won the 2017 Punjab assembly election by bagging 77 of the 117 seats. AAP won 20 and Shiromani Akali Dal bagged 15 seats.

Also, read: Punjab politics | Navjot Singh Sidhu cannot be made deputy CM or state party chief, Amarinder Singh tells Congress panel

The 59-year-old politician said his fight has been against that system.

“I joined the (Congress) party after Prashant Kishor met me 60 times. I told them I have a pro-Punjab agenda. I campaigned in 56 assembly seats and the party won in 54 of them, and 23 out of 24 were in Majha. This is the agenda I followed from the very first cabinet meeting where I gave a proposal to the chief minister to change the liquor policy for more revenue and give jobs with that money, he said in a Hindustan Times interview.