Post or no post, will stand by Gandhis: Sidhu amid turmoil
CHANDIGARH: Navjot Singh Sidhu, who recently resigned from the post of Congress’s Punjab unit president, said on Saturday that “post or no post... (I) will stand by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra”.
Sidhu’s statement comes as the Congress continues to battle crisis in poll-bound Punjab due to a bitter tussle between Sidhu and former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh for control of the party; which exploded last month after Singh stepped down from the post of CM, claiming that he was “humiliated thrice” by the Congress’s leadership.
The party high command then chose Charanjit Singh Channi for the top post in Punjab. However, soon after the new Cabinet was sworn in, Sidhu put in his papers on September 28, reportedly angered by certain appointments. Channi later met Sindhu and they agreed to set up a coordination panel of the party to take key decisions. Sidhu has been made part of the panel. But, it remains unclear if his resignation from the post of Congress’s state unit chief has been accepted.
On Saturday, in a Twitter post, Sidhu vowed to “uphold the principles of Gandhiji and Shastriji” and said he remained committed to ensuring a Congress victory.
“Will uphold principles of Gandhi Ji & Shastri Ji … Post or No Post will stand by @Rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi ! Let all negative forces try to defeat me, but with every ounce of positive energy will make Punjab win, Punjabiyat (Universal Brotherhood) win & every Punjabi win !!,” Sidhu wrote on his Twitter handle on the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
The cricketer-turned-politician also posted photos of Mahatma Gandhi and Shastri.
The turmoil in Punjab first erupted in May when Sidhu led a group of legislators to question Singh on unfulfilled poll promises. The central leadership intervened and named Sidhu as state unit chief in July, hoping the appointment and removal of Singh as CM last week would tamp down tensions and improve the party’s chances in next year’s assembly elections.
But the move appeared to create new fault lines in the state Congress unit, and stoke more dissension in Delhi against the central leadership with top leaders demanding organisational changes. Sidhu’s abrupt resignation barely 72 days after being appointed also embarrassed Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who together orchestrated Sidhu’s appointment and Singh’s exit.
Since his resignation, Singh has repeatedly lashed out at Sindhu, calling him unfit for Punjab. He kept up the attack on Thursday. “I had said it before also that Navjot Singh Sidhu is not the right man for Punjab, and if he contests, I will not let him win...,” he told reporters.
He later also warned the “Gandhi children” - a reference to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - were “quite inexperienced” and their advisors were clearly misguiding them.