'Total Lie': Amarinder Singh On Navjot Kaur Sidhu's 'CM Chair' Remark, Calls Couple 'Unstable'

Delhi: Former Punjab Chief Minister and BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Satuday hit out at former MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu over her infamous "Rs 500 crore for chief minister’s chair" remark, calling it a "total lie." Navjot Kaur Sidhu is the wife of former state Congress president, Navjot Singh Sidhu. Singh said that Sidhu's statement are "completely wrong" and also commented that she and her husband are an "unstable couple."

"Navjot Kaur Sidhu has given a wrong statement. Navjot Kaur and (Navjot Singh) Sidhu are an unstable couple. He was my Minister but he used to crib that time as well. What Navjot Kaur Sidhu said is a total lie. Making such a statement against the polity of India is a disservice to the nation," the former Chief Minister who had earlier been in the Congress said.

The controversy started after Navjot Kaur Sidhu told reporters that her husband would only return to active politics if he is chosen as the chief ministerial face for Punjab by the Congress. In this context, she claimed that they did not possess any large sum of money to give to any party.

Speaking about the steps the Congress should take against her, Captain Singh said, "I feel that Navjot Kaur Sidhu should be sacked by the Congress." He even suggested that he would have expelled the couple from the party if he had been in Congress.

"If I had been at Congress, I would have sacked this Sidhu couple and asked them to go home and join some other party," he added. Meanwhile, the party suspended Kaur from its primary membership for “gross indiscipline and defamatory remarks” on December 8.

Expressing dismay over Navjot Kaur Sidhu's statement, the former Chief Minister said, "What a thing to say! She thinks that without Sidhu couple, Punjab can't run. She thinks that they are guardian angels."

Recalling a time when he was in the Congress and Sidhu was his party colleague, he said, “When Sidhu was Minister, he said that his wife is not well, so he wants to earn money.”

Speaking on some prospective Chief Ministerial candidates from the Congress in the state, he said “I know the Congress inside out. There are nine CM faces in Punjab. But they have no future in Punjab.”

Backing the BJP and the Akali Dal in Punjab, the former Chief Minister said, "The responsibility lies with the BJP and the Akali Dal to form an alliance and run a strong government."

Singh further said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has no significant electoral stake in Punjab in the upcoming assembly elections and people have already given them their only chance to run the government.

"AAP has no future in Punjab. People just gave them a chance and now they are done. This is their one and only time. They will not even get double figures. The party will crack up before the elections," he said.

On his ties with the Congress and the Gandhi family, Singh said that he will only help Sonia Gandhi is she asks for it. However, that should not extend to any political commitments.

"If Mrs Gandhi asks for me today, I will go and help her. But not politically." he said.

In an advice to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has limited footprint in the state, Singh said that if the party is focused on building its cadres in the state, they should wait out at least three to four terms.

"Do you want to build up a cadre or form the government in Punjab. If their focus is on building cardres, they should wait for three to four terms. BJP should have a system of discussing things openly," he said.

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