Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh have been loggerheads with each other for a while. Due to their polar views and inability to see eye to eye, the aged-old Congress party is gradually nearing its inevitable disintegration in Punjab.
While Sidhu being vocal against Amarinder, is gradually falling into his prey. Amarinder, on Thursday, met around 55 Congress MLAs and eight MPs in an apparent show of strength, at the home of a cabinet colleague.
The meeting with party leaders has come amid the infighting between both the factions of the Amarinder and Navjot Singh Sidhu. The latter had recently taken a dig at Amarinder Singh to fulfil his promise to slash power rates.
Sidhu posted a video tagging Punjab CM and stated, “Congress Party stands by its resolve to give domestic power at 3 Rs per unit and industrial power at 5 Rs per unit through annulment of PPAs, along with the already provided Subsidy for over 10,000 Crores to Farmers and SC, BC, BPLfamiliesThis promise too must be fulfilled.”
However, Sidhu loyalists who were assumed to be batting for Sidhu to become CM in upcoming assembly elections in Punjab also seemed to switch sides as they met Amarinder over the dinner.
In addition to that, Harish Rawat, the in-charge of Punjab affairs at the AICC, has recently suggested that the next year’s Punjab Assembly polls will be under the leadership of Amarinder Singh. Through the statement, he revealed that Amarinder’s designation is safe in the party. Rawat also claimed that there was no threat to the Amarinder-led government in Punjab and the party’s victory prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Interestingly, ever since Sidhu has been handed over the reins of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) by the Gandhi clan, Amarinder opted to stay quiet amidst all the chaos, as if he knew that Sidhu will mark his end in the party because of his antics.
With almost negligible Political awareness, Sidhu has always been grabbing the bad limelight for multiple reasons. Sidhu was in close and exclusive touch with Imran Khan defying popular sentiment in India when he was holding the position of a legislator in the Punjab Assembly. During that time, he continued his exclusive bonhomie with the Pakistani establishment, and his love for Imran Khan had reached an unbelievable extent.
Right after Sidhu was appointed as the PCCC Chief, he began mocking Amarinder to silence him. He slammed Amarinder over farmers issues, drugs issues and several others. Earlier reported by TFI, Sidhu had slammed his own party’s government over the drugs issue in Punjab. Addressing the drugs issue, Sidhu quoted, “What investigation had Punjab police done? What action has the Punjab govt. taken? Must be brought into the public domain. Since the submission of reports, what further action did the state take in 2.5 years? Govt. must make itself accountable to the public with complete transparency.”
Read more: Sidhu now wants to oust Amarinder and become Punjab CM
Moreover, he further went on to praise BJP to make allegations against Amarinder on the farmers’ issue. Sidhu took to Twitter and said, “The sugarcane farmers issue needs to be immediately resolved amicably …. Strange that despite the higher cost of cultivation in Punjab the state assured price is too low as compared to Haryana / UP / Uttarakhand. As a torchbearer of agriculture, the Punjab SAP should be better!”
Read more: In order to belittle Amarinder, Sidhu praises farm produce prices in BJP-ruled states
Now, he has installed a notorious advisory panel and appointed Pyare Lal Garg and Malvinder Singh Mali as his trusted lieutenants. His advisory panel made anti-national remarks, inviting widespread hostility. While one advisor bats for Pakistan, the other has separatist tendencies and supports the cause of an independent Kashmir.
Read more: Sidhu has two advisors— one is a Pakistan apologist while the other is a separatist
Amarinder, despite being humiliated by his party chief, chose to wait for Sidhu to activate the self-destruction mode. Neither did he resign nor joined any other political party. However, with Harish Rawat’s claims that Amarinder will continue to hold his chair for the next assembly elections in Punjab and, the party will contest under his leadership only, it is quite evident that Amarinder’s position in the party cannot be altered by such Gandhi puppets like Navjot Singh Sidhu.