Sidhu can’t speak, Capt won’t talk
CAPT YET TO ENQUIRE ABOUT SIDHU’S WELL-BEING; MINISTER TO BREAK ICE WITH ‘PARTRIDGE’ FROM PAK
chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s ringtone is a singing partridge and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu plans to gift him one — a taxidermy — to break the ice after his “my captain” remark kicked up a political storm.
State’s public relations department had released a statement to the media that the local bodies minister has been advised to rest his vocal cords following his whirlwind campaign tour in pollbound states. But Amarinder has yet to call to enquire about his well-being.
The CM is learnt to be waiting for an apology, a demand made by many of his loyalists in the cabinet after Sidhu had called Congress chief Rahul Gandhi his captain and Amarinder “just an army captain” in Hyderabad while replying to a query on his visit to Pakistan for groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor despite Amarinder’s objection. Braving the criticism, Sidhu had refused to tender an apology saying he had done nothing wrong and Rahul is captain of both him and Amarinder and he had gone on invite of his friend, Pakistan PM Imran Khan.
The feud became poll ammunition for NDA ministers with Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani and Harsimrat Badal taking a dig at the Sidhu-Captain war. The Congress high command had to step in and ask both sides to put a lid to the controversy. Calling it a family matter between a father and son, Sidhu had said he will sort it out with CM when he meets him. It was enough to disarm ministers gunning for him.
But an ailing Sidhu too has not yet messaged the CM or called him. “The doctors have done balming therapy on my throat and I am resting at home. I cannot talk for three more days as my vocal cords have been damaged badly,” Sidhu messaged on Saturday evening, when asked if he has spoken to CM.
On when does he plan to meet the CM, Sidhu said: “I have no grudges against the CM and there is no ice to break. I will meet him as soon as I can speak. The CM’s mobile phone is a singing partridge. I was gifted a stuffed partridge in Pakistan. I plan to gift it to the CM.”
But the opposition is not sparing the partridge too. Sidhu’s arch-rival, ex-minister Bikram Singh Majithia is wondering why Sidhu had brought a showpiece of partridge (‘titar’ in Punjabi) for CM. “Ehda matlab eh vi ho sakda ke oh Captain nu titar ho jaan layi keh reha hove (It can mean that Sidhu wants Captain to disappear from the scene),” Majithia said.
The stuffed partridge has been gifted to Sidhu by a journalist named Imran Khan. It may kick another storm, just for the namesake.