'Deadlock' persists between Punjab CM, Sidhu even after meet
Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Sep, 2021 10:40 AM
Chandigarh, Sep 30 (IANS) The crisis in the Punjab Congress between Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu seems to be continuing despite their first face-to-face meeting on Thursday since the latter resigned from the post.
The meeting lasted for over two hours and the issues raised by Sidhu will be put before the Cabinet on October 4, sources in the party said.
After the meeting at Punjab Bhavan, where AICC observer Harish Chaudhary was also present, both Channi and Sidhu left the meeting venue without talking to the media.
After meeting the Chief Minister, Sidhu held a closed-door meeting with his close confidantes, legislators Pargat Singh, Raj Kumar Verka, and Kuljit Nagra.
A day earlier Channi said he has spoken to Sidhu and invited him to have a chat and sort out differences, if any.
"Whoever is party President is head of the family. I had called him and told him that the party is supreme. I have spoken to him on phone and told him to let's sit, talk it out and resolve the issue," he had told the media here.
Days after the 'deadlock' between Channi and Sidhu over the appointments of the Director General of Police and Advocate General, besides re-induction of a 'tainted' legislator in the Cabinet, Sidhu, ahead of the meeting, indicated that he was ready to end the impasse.
He especially came from his hometown Patiala to meet Channi in Chandigarh.
Ahead of the meeting, Sidhu tweeted: "Chief Minister has invited me for talks will reciprocate by reaching Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh at 3:00 PM today, he is welcome for any discussions !"
A day after his resignation as the Congress chief, Sidhu on September 29 said he will fight for truth till his last breath as the fight is for principles that he won't compromise with.
"I will fight for truth until my last breath," Sidhu had said in a video message posted on his Twitter handle.
"It is not a personal battle but a fight for principles. I won't compromise on principles," Sidhu had said categorically.
Without mincing words, he had said he would not accept tainted ministers being brought back into the newly constituted state cabinet led by Channi.
In the video message in Punjabi, the cricketer-turned-politician, who said his only religion is to make people's lives better, had said he had fought for justice and for Punjab's agenda.
Unhappy over the expansion, allocation of portfolios and appointments on crucial posts, including the Advocate General, Sidhu on September 28 resigned from his post after remaining at the helm for 71 days.
As his decision pushed the state Congress into deeper crisis, Sidhu, however, maintained that he would not be leaving the party.
The petitioner said the state had passed the Punjab Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (Reservation in Services) Act of 2006 but it has never implemented it in case of appointment in judicial services.
In the run up to the assembly polls scheduled early next year, the BJP Punjab unit has launched several campaigns to strengthen its organisational structure at ground level. Sharma said that work is progressing at good pace for formation of a 21-member committee at each polling booth.
According to Sidhu, the department has issued sanctions under five phases for purchasing the straw management machines with subsidies ranging from 50 to 80 per cent.
On Tuesday, the Delhi Police had said that they have busted a Pakistan-based terror module and arrested six persons, including two people -- Zeeshan and Javed -- who were trained in Pakistan.
According to the police, the accused, Raju Chaudhary, who was arrested from Jammu has revealed during the interrogation that Wazir was shot dead on September 3 and four more people were present at the time of the incident. A police official informed that former NC leader, Wazir, was also given sedatives before being killed.
Farmers said the UPPCL sent arbitrary electricity bills and if the farmers failed to pay, they are harassed unnecessarily. The farmers locked the door of the power discom office at Noida's sector 16 and continued their protest outside.
