State Cong needs Sidhu, should be more flexible to him: Rawat
Party state in-charge says even the former cricketer’s worst critics can’t deny his usefulness for Cong at national level and in Punjab politics
CHANDIGARH : Amid discontent in a section of state leaders over the importance given to former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in the recent weeks, All India Congress Committee ( AICC) general secretary and state in- charge Harish Rawat said the Punjab Congress needs to be more “flexible and accommodating” towards him.
Rawat said his ( Sidhu’s) worst critics cannot deny his usefulness for the party at national level and in state politics. “We all realise that the Congress needs Sidhu’s services. If we have to take his services, we will have to spread our arms for him and be more accepting. The Congress has a history of accommodating conflicting views and visions, and different personalities,” he said on Thursday, throwing strong hints about an important role for the cricketer-turned-politician in the days to come.
Rawat’s advice to the state leadership comes at a time when the party circles are abuzz with speculation about Sidhu’s re- induction into the state cabinet or appointment as the state unit chief ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Punjab. Sidhu, who has never cloaked his ambition, was lying low ever since he quit the state cabinet over being divested of the local government ministry by chief minister Amarinder Singh in June last year.
The new state affairs in-charge sees Sidhu as “Rafale in Rahul Gandhi’s armoury” and has been pushing for an important role for him in the state. Though the former cricketer’s crowd-pulling ability and oratorical flourish are well-recognized, a section of the state Congress leaders is uneasy with his abrasive style with a party MP even asking him to float his own outfit.
Rawat dismissed these differences as hiccups, stating he is there to deal with such things or he would be without work. Asked if the Congress is looking at a new leadership for the party for future, Rawat said Amarinder has served Punjab and the party well and was rewarded accordingly in return.
“Captain is still young and mentally alert. At any juncture, and I am not talking about 2022, it may be 2024 or later than that, when he feel it is time to hang his boots, it will be his duty to decide the next line of leadership and nurture them,” the former Uttarakhand CM told select journalists.
He, in the same breath, appreciated Sidhu for the way he spoke in the assembly and the way he praised the CM. “This means he is on the right path. And, this has helped break the ice,” he added, hinting at a rapprochement between the two leaders.
On Punjab Congress’ organisational set- up, Rawat said he is holding meetings with state and district- level leaders for feedback and would like to announce it in the next 15- 20 days. “I plan to travel to one district in each region before going ahead with it,” he said. The Congress high command had dissolved the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and all district committees, retaining former MP Sunil Jakhar as president, in January.
Hits out at Kejriwal on farm bills
Rawat hit out at Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal for terming the four bills as “drama”. “If Kejriwal thinks what we have done is not right, he should tell what he is doing. He should pass his own set of bills,” he said. On AAP’S demand for MSP guarantee for crops other than wheat and paddy, he said the states’ resources will not permit this.