In change of strategy, Congress rallies behind ‘unfazed’ Sidhu
CHANDIGARH: A defiant Navjot Singh Sidhu has forced the Congress to change its strategy. After senior party leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari and Digvijaya Singh slammed the state local bodies minister for his remarks on the Pulwama terror attack, the Congress took to ground as well as social media to attack the BJP while defending him.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar likened Sidhu to “gabbar sher” — an iconic character in Bollywood superhit Sholay. “Like Gabbar Singh used to say villagers take his name to put their children to sleep, the BJP and Akalis are running scared of Sidhu. He is the biggest threat to them, which is why they are gunning for him,” Jakhar said.
Defending Sidhu’s remark that “terrorism has no dharam, mazhab, zaat aur desh (religion, caste or country)”, the Congress is circulating speech of Union minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament saying just the same lines. “Sidhu is using the same words and terminology. So how is he being branded a traitor?” Jakhar questioned. Even rural development minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa, a confidante of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, rallied behind Sidhu. “He is being targeted by the BJP as he is the star campaigner of the Congress. They want to stop him from going to other states. All they can think of is Sidhu, Sidhu, Sidhu. Is it wrong to express one’s opinion?” asked Bajwa.
Bajwa added that he had cautioned two months back that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will either raise the bogey of temple or Pakistan before the elections. “And it is coming true,” Bajwa said. The Congress, which had decided to show solidarity with the NDA regime after the attack, is now pointing to reports on how the ammunition was sneaked into the Valley and the intelligence failure.
Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu, who had advised the minister to be guarded in his reactions, too said the BJP is feeling threatened by their star campaigner. The change in the Congress strategy comes amid Amarinder upping the ante against Pakistan. But party sources say the party cannot let the BJP make Sidhu a scapegoat to make political capital out of the tragedy ahead of the elections. It was state jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa who supported his colleague after the Akalis and BJP trolled Sidhu for his remarks. Punjabi Ekta Party, led by Sukhpal Singh Khaira, too has come to Sidhu’s support and targeted the CM for his “double-speak” on Pakistan.
So far, an unfazed Sidhu was taking on his trolls, on his own, virtually. He created a hashtag, #Iskaimpactayegakinahi and is tagging defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a news channel, BJP and its ally Akali Dal to his post.
Each picture and video has the same poser — iska impact ayega ki nahi (will this have an impact or not). Many of his posts have gone viral and the social media team of the Youth Congress is cheering him on.