Son, wife not to take up govt posts: Sidhu

BACKFOOT DRIVE Minister says ‘answerable to his conscience’

CHANDIGARH: Facing flak from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) over the appointment of his son as law officer and wife as chairperson of Punjab Warehousing Corporation, local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday said they will not accept the posts.

The Captain Amarinder Singh government appointed his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu as chairperson of Punjab Warehousing Corporation last month, while his son Karan Sidhu was appointed as an assistant advocate general on Thursday.

“My son Karan rang me up this morning to tell me that he does not want to accept the post nor would his mother. Karan made it to the list on merit. He has been practicing for six years in the Delhi high court and in the Punjab advocate general office since the past one year. He applied for the post to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather Bhagwant Singh who too was an advocate general in Punjab. He is his grandfather’s biggest fan,” Sidhu said while addressing the media here.

Sidhu said his wife too was a former MLA and a chief parliamentary secretary.

“She sacrificed her seat for me and went door-to-door in her constituency to make me win while I toured whole of Punjab during last year’s assembly polls. She refused to contest Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll too. I had left the decision to accept the offer or refuse it to her,” he said.

Sidhu, who has been accusing the Akalis of nepotism, for once found himself defending their potshots at his family. Reacting to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s barb that the “Ghar Ghar Naukri” poll promise of the Congress was coming true for Sidhu’s family, the minister said he is not answerable to the likes of Majithia.

“I am answerable to my conscience and my party alone,” he said. He also denied that his wife wanted headship of some other board or corporation. “We as a family would do whatever it takes to sustain the faith of people of Punjab,” he said.

Later, Sidhu’s wife took to Twitter to hit out at Majithia. “I am a senior gynaecologist, but left my job to serve the people of Punjab. We are not unemployed, sifarishi (appointed through contacts) or non-deserving. Joshi (BJP leader Anil Joshi) and Majithia have no right to comment. Punjab will be a different place if we honour merit rather than giving power to the corrupt,” she said, recounting her son’s educational background and work experience.

When asked if he would not have been on a higher moral ground if his son had not applied for the post and his wife refused it when called by the CM to his residence, Sidhu said everyone in their family takes their own decisions.

“It is not my decision. Nor was their appointment pricking my conscience. They are both qualified professionals in their own right. But my family has always stood by me. They have raised my head with pride. I feel light as a feather now,” he said, ending it with his famous punchline:

“Duniya mein sab se bara rog; kya kehenge log (the biggest affliction in this world is what will people think about me).

It is not my decision. They are both qualified professionals in their own right. But my family has always stood by me. They have raised my head with pride. NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU, local bodies minister If the SAD had not raised the issue, the Capt government would have completed its ‘ek ghar naukari’ mission and soon would have given a job to Sidhu’s daughter also DS CHEEMA, SAD spokesperson