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Updated July 22nd, 2021 at 11:26 IST

Punjab CM counters Navjot Sidhu's 'show of strength'; huddles with MLAs in Chandigarh

Countering Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu's 'show of strength', CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday, held a meeting with MLAs in Chandigarh home

Amarinder Singh
IMAGE:PTI | Image:self
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Countering Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu's 'show of strength', CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday, held a meeting with ministers and MLAs at his Chandigarh farmhouse. Sidhu had hosted 62 MLAs at his palatial Amritsar home in a show of strength at breakfast. The newly anointed party chief also visited the visit the Golden Temple with the MLAs. Absent from Sidhu's 'show of strength' was CM Capt Amarinder Singh who has refused to meet Sidhu till he 'publically apologises' for his tirade against him.

Capt's counter 'show of strength' to Sidhu

On Thursday, Sidhu has sent a special invite to the CM and four working presidents for his 'oath ceremony' as party unit chief on July 23. While CM has refused to meet Sidhu till he apologises, this move seems like an olive branch by the cricketer-turned-politician to mend fences with the veteran Congressman. Punjab goes to polls in February 2022.

Sidhu chosen as Punjab Congress chief

Putting an end to the speculation, Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee replacing  Sunil Jakhar. In a bid to balance the power equation between the CM and Sidhu, Congress appointed four Working presidents to the state unit - Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel, and Kuljit Singh Nagra. While Amarinder Singh affirmed that he will abide by High Command's decision, he was reportedly not informed of Sidhu's appointment. The miffed CM has not publicly congratulated Sidhu and instead demanded a public apology.

Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral asserted that the CM will not meet Sidhu till he apologised for his continued tirade against CM saying "Reports of Sidhu seeking time to meet Captain are totally false. the CM won’t meet Navjot Singh Sidhu till he publicly apologizes for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him". In response, Sidhu camp MLA Pargat Singh - a vocal critic of the CM, said, "Why should Sidhu apologise (to CM)? CM has not solved many issues. In that case, he should also apologise to public".

Sidhu Vs Capt

Sidhu has been at loggerheads with the Punjab Chief Minister after he denied Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. Later, he was divested of several portfolios which led to his resignation from the cabinet.  He later patched up with CM Amarinder Singh over an informal lunch, but it seems to have gone awry as Sidhu began to attack the CM again. After the HC quashed the SIT probe into 2015 firing sacrilege cases, he targeted the CM for not acting against key Shiromani Akali Dal leaders in the same case. Recently, the Amritsar East MLA has taken to Twitter to advise the CM to cut down on power costs, tweeting several radical suggestions. After the High Command hauled the CM over Sidhu's allegations, Sidhu was made state chief, against Capt Singh's wishes.

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Published July 22nd, 2021 at 11:26 IST

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