Sidhu escalates feud with Punjab CM; urges Congress MLAs to convey 'truth' to High Command

Escalating his fight with Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on Thursday, Navjot Singh Sidhu urged all Congress MLAs to apprise the party high command of the real situation in the state. Posting a video on Twitter, the cricketer-turned-politician stressed that seeking justice for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib was his main emphasis during the 2019 Lok Sabha campaign trail. Sidhu was also among those who participated in a recent meeting of MLAs and Ministers to pressurize the Chief Minister to act against the perpetrators of sacrilege and police firing cases. 

Indirectly accusing Singh of shielding the culprits of the case, he also asserted his closeness to the party top brass. It is pertinent to note that he has regularly met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi despite being sidelined in the Punjab state unit. Previously, Sidhu stressed that raising issues of the people was the constitutional right of elected representatives which would lead to the strengthening of Congress. 

Differences between Sidhu & Amarinder

After winning the Amritsar East seat on a Congress ticket in the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls by a margin of 42,809 votes, Sidhu was inducted into the Cabinet. However, a series of events led to the ex-swashbuckling batsman tendering his resignation from the Cabinet in July 2019. These include the Punjab CM openly slamming Sidhu for his 2018 visit to Pakistan where he hugged Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, losing key portfolios and denial of ticket to Navjot Kaur Sidhu in the 2019 General Election.

While the former cricketer continues to be an MLA, he has maintained a distance from party activities. Though Singh and Sidhu attempted to resolve their differences over tea on March 17, 2021, a positive outcome proved to be elusive. The relationship took a turn for the worse after the Punjab & Haryana HC quashed the SIT probe into the firing cases on April 9. Breaking his silence on Sidhu's attacks, Singh on April 27 dared him to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls and predicted that he will lose his deposit.

Moreover, he contended that the cricketer-turned-politician wanted to join some other party. Ruling out the possibility of replacing Sunil Jakhar as the Punjab Congress president, the CM asserted that he would oppose the suggestion of giving the top post to Sidhu. Additionally, he also dismissed the claim of the ex-BJP MP on the Deputy CM's position. Meanwhile, the cricketer-turned-politician has dared Amarinder Singh to take action amid speculation that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau is investigating some allegations against him and his aides.