‘On verge of losing voice’: Sidhu advised rest after 70 rallies
CHANDIGARH: Congress leader and Punjab local bodies minister minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has been advised bed rest for five days after a marathon 17-day election campaign, a statement issued by his office said on Thursday.
“The exhaustive schedule has injured his vocal chords,” the statement said, adding that the Punjab minister has addressed more than 70 back-to-back public meetings.
According to the statement, doctors have told Sidhu that he was “on the verge of losing his voice” and that he has been suggested a complete 3 to 5 day rest. Sidhu had been in the news for the past few days, first with his Pakistan visit to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Kartarpur corridor and then with his ‘Rahul is my captain’ remarks.
Sidhu’s two Pakistan visits hadn’t gone down too well in some quarters, especially after he was seen hugging Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in a video from his first visit. His second visit had irked many within the party since it came after a grenade attack at a Nirankari samagam on the outskirts of Amritsar.
Addressing a press conference in poll-bound Hyderabad last Friday, Sidhu had said Congress president Rahul Gandhi was his captain and that chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was “an army captain”. This hadn’t gone down too well within his party with four ministers calling for his resignation.
In the statement issued earlier, Sidhu’s official spokesperson said the continuous helicopter and plane travel had had a detrimental effect on the minister’s health. The statement said that since Sidhu was on an embolism treatment, he had suffered a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) due to excess air travel some years ago.
Sidhu has undergone a series of haematology (blood) tests which require sincere evaluation, the statement said. The statement further said that he has gone to an undisclosed location for a complete check up and recovery and is being administered specialised medication, along with breathing exercises and physiotherapy.