SIDHU QUITS

Congress high command has bumbled yet again. Hours after Sidhu’s resignation, three prominent leaders close to him also quit their posts: cabinet minister Razia Sultana, general secretary Yoginder Dhingra and treasurer Gulzar Inder Singh Chahal. “Sidhu Sahab is a man of principles. He is fighting for Punjab and Punjabiyat,” said Sultana.

According to people familiar with the matter, Sidhu’s resignation was triggered by his unhappiness at multiple issues: the inclusion of Rana Gurjit Singh in the state cabinet, the appointed of APS Deol as the state’s attorney general, and Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota as the state’s DGP; and the allocation of the home portfolio to Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. Sidhu was already miffed at not being named CM, they added, and saw these as signals from the new chief minister Charanjit Channi that he (the CM) and not Sidhu was calling the shots.

Channi, once considered a Sidhu loyalist, said he had no information about the resignation. He (Sidhu) is our president and a good leader. If he is upset with him, we will sit and talk. I have full confidence in him,” said the CM.

As night fell, newly appointed Congress state working presidents Kuljit Singh Nagra and Sukhwinder Singh Danny, along with some legislators reached Sidhu’s residence to request him to reconsider his decision. The chief minister also called an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.

Politically, Sidhu’s exit makes the Punjab contest even more open than it was a week ago. The Congress in the state now has more factions than the two during the long and internecine fight between Singh and Sidhu. The Shiromani Akali Dal managed to escape farmer ire over the farm laws by exiting the National Democratic Alliance and breaking off with the Bharatiya Janata Party but the sacrilege case and the violence that followed still hang over it. The Aam Aadmi Party has avoided all controversies but seems to still be wrestling with a state leadership issue.

What next?

The Congress would appear to be caught in a bind. It cannot give in to Sidhu (although that is a possibility) without appearing weak; nor can it reach out to Amarinder who admitted last fortnight that he had been “humiliated” by the party. The former CM continued to take potshots at his bitter rival, who, till Tuesday morning, appeared to have won the tussle for control of the party.

He said Sidhu’s abrupt move suggested he was preparing to join hands with another party. “The Congress high command should immediately accept Sidhu’s resignation and appoint some competent man in his place,” he said.

Asked if he would back former state unit chief Sunil Jakhar for the job, Amarinder said, “He (Jakhar) is very competent and had performed exceedingly well as the party chief.” Jakhar had made way for Sidhu’s elevation two months ago, apparently under instructions from the party’s central leadership. “It’s just not cricket! What stands compromised in this entire ‘episode’ is the faith reposed in the (outgoing?) PCC president by the Congress Leadership. No amount of grand standing can justify this breach of trust placing his benefactors in a peculiar predicament,” Jakhar tweeted.

Senior Congress leaders said that Sidhu’s resignation had not been accepted and that negotiations were on. “I urge Sidhu to reconsider his resignation and in the same breath urge party high command to flag issues raised by him and find their redressal,” said senior leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

A senior Congress leader said the party is learnt to be preparing for an eventuality where Sidhu does not take back his resignation, and state unit working chief Kuljit Singh Nagra’s name has been suggested by Channi and some others as his substitute. “Sonia Ji also had a long chat with the chief minister,” said the leader who did not want to be named. Nagra, considered close to Rahul Gandhi, was to take oath as cabinet minister on Saturday but his name was dropped from the list at the eleventh hour to accommodate four-time MLA Randeep Nabha who had protested against his non-inclusion.

The Opposition tore into Sidhu. “I had already said that Navjot Singh Sidhu is a misguided missile; no one knows who he would hit. He is full of ego and thinks himself to be larger than life,” said Sukhbir Singh Badal, president of the Akali Dal.

AAP said Sidhu couldn’t tolerate a Dalit leader as chief minister.