Sidhu dares Capt Amarinder to prove he wanted to switch sides - Hindustan Times
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Sidhu dares Capt Amarinder to prove he wanted to switch sides

May 22, 2021 03:50 PM IST

Amid rift in Punjab Congress, Amritsar East MLA tweets that party high command has intervened, and he will wait

Congress leader and former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been critical of chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh over the Bargari sacrilege issue, on Saturday challenged him to prove that he had met any leader of another party for switching sides.

Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Congress MLA and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu met over tea in Chandigarh on March 18, 2021. After the meeting, Amarinder had expressed confidence that Sidhu would be back in his cabinet but the MLA has been critical of the CM since the probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident was quashed last month. (HT file photo)
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Congress MLA and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu met over tea in Chandigarh on March 18, 2021. After the meeting, Amarinder had expressed confidence that Sidhu would be back in his cabinet but the MLA has been critical of the CM since the probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident was quashed last month. (HT file photo)

“Prove one meeting that I have had with another party’s leader. I have never asked anyone for any post till date. All I seek is Punjab’s prosperity. Was invited and offered Cabinet berths many times but I did not accept. Now, our esteemed high command has intervened, Will wait,” the Amritsar East MLA tweeted.

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He also shared a video footage of a press conference he addressed recently in Patiala in which he says that his family members and he sacrificed key posts just for the sake of Punjab so why would he seek the posts now.

His tweet comes after Capt Amarinder claimed that “he (Sidhu) is in talks with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and that he can switch sides any moment”. Without mentioning his name, he dared him to prove that he had had any meeting with a leader of any other party.

Sidhu has been critical of Capt Amarinder after the Punjab and Haryana high court last month quashed a probe into the 2015 Kotkapura firing incident, which had taken place during a protest against the desecration of a religious text in Faridkot district. The CM too had slammed Sidhu, calling his outbursts total indiscipline and suggesting that he may be leaving for the AAP.

Capt Amarinder and Sidhu had met over tea in March following reports that the Congress central leadership had been trying to rehabilitate the MLA who had resigned as minister after he was divested of the local bodies portfolio in 2019. After the meeting, Amarinder had expressed confidence that Sidhu would be back in his cabinet.

Sidhu had joined the Congress after leaving the BJP before the 2017 assembly elections.

Punjab cooperative and jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh and Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa are among the other Congress leaders who have criticised Capt Amarinder for not delivering justice in the Bargari sacrilege and police firing incidents.

All these Congress leaders also want action against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and former deputy CM and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in this issue. (With PTI inputs)

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Surjit Singh is a correspondent. He covers politics and agriculture, besides religious affairs and Indo-Pak border in Amritsar and Tarn Taran.

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