More Punjab Ministers slam Navjot Sidhu's remarks on CM Amarinder; mention polls, BJP, AAP

Protesting strongly against their party MLA's unwarranted belligerence against Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, more Punjab Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday joined the chorus seeking strong disciplinary action by the party high command against Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Not ruling out collusion between Sidhu and the state's Opposition parties such as BJP and AAP, Balbir Sidhu, Vijay Inder Singla, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, said, "Navjot Sidhu's provocative and targeted attacks on Amarinder Singh over the past years were an invitation for disaster for the Congress."

Punjab: More Ministers demand actions against Navjot Singh Sidhu

The Cabinet Ministers also said that it was quite possible that Sidhu's targeted attacks on the Punjab Chief Minister were instigated by the AAP or BJP leaders to create a problem in the Punjab Congress to further their electoral agenda in the state. “This manner in which Sidhu had launched the offensive against the state government, particularly Captain Amarinder, suggested a conspiracy against the Chief Minister,” they added.

In a hard-hitting joint statement, two days after 3 of their colleagues had also launched a counter-offensive against Navjot Singh Sidhu, these 4 Ministers said the Congress MLA’s verbal assaults on Captain Amarinder on sacrilege and other issues amounted to open rebellion against the party.

Terming Sidhu’s blatant defiance as an act of total indiscipline, the Cabinet Ministers said such anti-party activities cannot be tolerated by any political establishment, and more so in a state headed for elections. “He should be immediately suspended, if not expelled, as his continued presence in Punjab Congress was creating a mess in the party’s state unit and diverting its attention from the more important task of gearing up for the polls,” they added.

Pointing to Sidhu’s track record of controversial statements, the Ministers said the ex-cricketer evidently seemed, as usual, to be batting for himself, and was totally lacking in team spirit – a trait that he had exposed in the political arena more than once. His habit of biting the hand that feeds him had made him a persona non grata earlier in his former party, they added, calling for stern action against the MLA. 

“He is nothing but a trouble-maker whose contribution to the Congress and the state government in Punjab in all these years has been virtually nil,” the Ministers said. Questioning the rationale behind allowing him to continue in the Congress at a time when the party was preparing for the next Assembly elections in Punjab and the state government was battling an unprecedented COVID crisis.

Citing Captain Amarinder’s open challenge to Sidhu to contest against him from Patiala instead of raving and ranting against him publicly, the Ministers said the MLA should quit the Congress and pit his self-proclaimed might against that of the Chief Minister if he really believed in his own political prowess. Attacking the Chief Minister on social media can hardly be termed as an endorsement of his political clout or popularity, they quipped.

Sidhu's attack on Captain Amarinder Singh

Since the past few days, Sidhu has been attacking the state government and CM Singh over the alleged delay in justice in the incidents of desecration of a religious text and subsequent police firing incident in Faridkot in 2015. In a fresh attack towards Captain Amarinder, Sidhu tweeted, "Sad !! Due to the incompetence of the Home Minister, Govt is forced to accept orders of the High Court, which the People of Punjab are standing up against. Giving 6 months to New SIT extends the delay of Govt’s biggest poll promise, unfortunately, up-to next elections code of conduct."

He further wrote, "Injustice caused by deliberate delay is a betrayal of People’s Mandate. After Multiple Inquiry Commissions, SITs, and the passage of 6 years, evidence has weakened while the accused have gained in wisdom, making their defence stronger due to repetitive investigations on the same matter."

(Image: ANI, PTI)