Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned as party chief merely two days after the new government was formed, refused to take back his resignation even though Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and other state leaders pleaded with him on Wednesday to continue in his post.
In a recorded message posted on Twitter, Sidhu said that the issues of rooting out corruption and giving the people a clean government has been compromised with the choice of ministers that have been appointed in the cabinet.
“The 17 years of my political career have been for a purpose, to make a difference, to take a stand and to make people's lives better. This is my only religion,” Sidhu tweeted.
"My fight is issue-based and I have stood by it for a long time. I cannot compromise with my ethics, my moral authority. What I see is a compromise with issues, agenda in Punjab. I cannot misguide the high command nor can I let them be misguided," Sidhu added.
हक़-सच की लड़ाई आखिरी दम तक लड़ता रहूंगा … pic.twitter.com/LWnBF8JQxu
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 29, 2021
According to sources, one of the main reasons behind Sidhu’s resignation was the induction of Rana Gurjeet Singh in the Punjab Cabinet. The Kapurthala legislator had been dropped from the Cabinet in 2018 over his alleged involvement in a mining scandal.
The ex-cricketer turned politician was also angry with the party high command when Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was given the key Home Department portfolio even though he was opposed to him.
Out of his recommendations, only one person was reportedly given a berth in the cabinet. According to sources, while finalising the list, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ignored Sidhu and finalised the list without consulting him.
A day after Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation as Punjab Congress chief, the party tried to bring him around while keeping its options open. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said he had spoken to him on the phone and offered to hodl talks to settle the issue.
Channi, who recently replaced Mr Sidhu's rival Amarinder Singh as Chief Minister, said he was willing to discuss Navjot Sidhu's concerns.
"I told Sidhu that the party believes in consultations, please come and we can fix this. If anyone has any objections to any appointment, then I am not rigid on that. There is no ego tussle," Channi told reporters.
Sidhu had expected to have a bigger say in the cabinet formation as he wanted to give it a corruption free look ahead of the assembly polls. However, Channi, who became Punjab's first Dalit Sikh Chief Minister 10 days ago appears to have ignored this issue. Besides, the high command also ignored Sidhu’s suggestions on keeping controversial former ministers out of the government.
Sidhu was also angry about key posts given to officials linked to the "sacrilege" case. Soon after Sidhu's resignation, a state minister and three office bearers of the party also quit to express their support for his stand.
Amid the ongoing drama, whispers are also doing the rounds that Captain Amrinder Singh and few senior Congress leaders may join the BJP. There is also a talk of Singh floating a regional party in the wake of forthcoming assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Captain Amrinder Singh has been meeting various leaders in Delhi including the senior Congress leader Manish Tewari. Many congress leaders too are not happy with the way the Punjab problem was dealt.
