CHANDIGARH: Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation from the post of Punjab Congress president on Tuesday triggered another crisis for the party.
Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, in whose resignation Sidhu played the central role, was among party leaders leders who hit out at his former cabinet colleague. He said Sidhu’s resignation within two months of taking over the vital post of the PPCC chief had proved beyond doubt that the cricketerturned-politician was an “unstable” man, who could not be relied upon to lead the ruling party, especially in a border state like Punjab.
Terming Sidhu’s resignation as sheer drama, Amarinder said the move suggested that his former cabinet colleague was preparing the ground to quit the Congress and join hands with someone other party in the run-up to the state assembly polls. “I had been saying all along that this man is unstable and dangerous, and cannot be entrusted with the task of running Punjab,” said Amarinder, adding that Sidhu had also proved to be absolutely incompetent during his stint as a minister in his government. Amarinder, who arrived in Delhi on a personal visit, told reporters at the airport that Punjab is a sensitive state, sharing over 600-km border with a hostile Pakistan, and Sidhu’s close links with his cricketer friend, Imran Khan, and ISI chief Qamar Javed Bajwa are a serious threat to India’s national security.
He said that by resigning within two months of taking over as the PPCC chief, Sidhu had once again exhibited his “shifty” character. “I’ve know this boy since his childhood and he has been a loner and can never be a team player,” said Captain Amarinder, recalling how the cricketer had deserted the Indian team in 1996 in England. “That’s what his real character is,” said the former chief minister.
Describing Sidhu as a “flamboyant” speaker, Captain Amarinder Singh said what he speaks in public meetings or rallies may make people laugh but it’s all froth, with no substance. “People don’t vote for buffoonery,” he said, adding that no one takes Sidhu seriously.
Replying to a question that Sidhu was upset with the inclusion of certain ministers in the cabinet, Amarinder said the PPCC chief apparently wanted to run the government by remote control. “What nonsense is this! Cabinet formation is the prerogative of the chief minister, so why should Sidhu interfere in it,” he quipped. “He’s only making grounds to quit the Congress.”
Congress leader Sunil Jakhar, who was dropped as the Punjab Congress chief to make way for Navjot Singh Sidhu took to Twitter to criticise Sidhu, accusing him of ‘breach of trust’. Without naming Sidhu, Jakhar tweeted, “It’s just not cricket! What stands compromised in this entire ‘episode’ is the faith reposed in the (outgoing ?) PCC president by the Congress leadership. No amount of grand standing can justify this breach of trust placing his benefactors in a peculiar predicament.” Jakhar narrowly lost the race to become the chief minister after Captain Amarinder Singh’s ouster when a section of party MLAs demanded that only a Sikh MLA should be elevated to the top post.
Told you so, reminds former CM After Sidhu’s resignation, Amarinder Singh tweeted, “I told you so…he is not a stable man and not fit for the border state of Punjab.”
