Congress top brass tries to mollify CM; summons Sidhu to Delhi over advisors' remarks

The Congress high command has again stepped in to address the ongoing rift between Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh and party state president Navjot Singh Sidhu. As per sources, Singh cancelled a media briefing in which he was scheduled to comment on the remarks of former school teacher Malvinder Singh Mali and ex-Baba Farid University of Health Sciences registrar Pyare Lal Garg on Kashmir and Pakistan respectively. This development came after AICC Punjab in charge Harish Rawat communicated to both the CM and Sidhu to avoid giving a press conference on the issue.

Sources also revealed that the former swashbuckling cricketer has been summoned to Delhi because his advisors violated the party line. Meanwhile, 23 Congress MLAs held a meeting with Cabinet Ministers Tript Bajwa and Sukhjinder Randhawa over the controversial comments of Mali and Garg. Rawat is also planning to visit Chandigarh to resolve this complicated situation, sources indicated. 

Amarinder takes on Sidhu's advisors

Garg had questioned Punjab CM Amarinder Singh's criticism of Pakistan, suggesting that it was not in the interest of Punjab. Meanwhile, Mali too came under fire for claiming that Jammu and Kashmir is a "separate country". He wrote, "Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris. Going against the tenets of the UNO resolutions, India and Pakistan have illegally usurped Kashmir. If Kashmir was a part of India, then what was the need to have Articles 370 and 35A". He stirred another controversy by posting a sketch of late PM Indira Gandhi in which she is seen standing near a heap of human skulls.

Reportedly, this was the cover page of a Punjabi magazine 'Jantak Paigam' perceived as an indirect reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Expressing strong disapproval for these comments, the Punjab CM asserted that J&K is an inalienable part of the country and accused Mali of toeing Pakistan's line. He also reminded Garg that thousands of Punjabis have lost their lives due to Pakistan-backed terrorism. 

Coming down heavily on the controversial statements of Navjot Sidhu's advisors, BJP questioned whether they were appointed on Rahul Gandhi's instructions. Speaking to the media on Monday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra opined that these remarks reflect the mindset of the Congress party. He also recalled Sidhu's gesture of hugging Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2018. 

BJP's Sambit Patra remarked, "They (remarks) are absolutely appalling and they paint India in a bad picture. One of the advisors said that we should not speak against Pakistan because it is not in the interest of Punjab. And the other advisor is saying that Kashmir is an independent country and in fact, India is an illegal occupant of Kashmir shows us the thought process of the Congress party."