Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
India

Sidhu Back In Action; Meets Supporters, Says Not Quitting Cong

Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Jul, 2019 07:49 PM

    After lying low for weeks following a change in his portfolio in the Punjab cabinet, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu is meeting his supporters again, telling them he remains with the Congress.


    Mr Sidhu met supporters, including local municipal councillors, at his home here on Tuesday.


    "It was made clear at the meeting that he has resigned from the Punjab cabinet but certainly not from the party. He motivated everybody at the meeting to work hard for the party", said Monika Sharma, who was among the municipal councillors there.


    The Congress lawmaker said he has no intention of quitting the party in the future as well, according to the local leader.


    Mr Sidhu was earlier with the BJP and joined the Congress just ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls in 2017.


    His relations with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh were strained and he was stripped of his Local Government and Tourism portfolios in a reshuffle on June 6.


    Mr Sidhu never took charge of his new Power portfolio and also kept away from the media.


    The chief minister accepted his resignation from the state cabinet on Saturday.


    Monika Sharma said Mr Sidhu urged everyone to work for boosting development, particularly in his Amritsar East assembly constituency.


    The lawmaker assured that he will meet the municipal councillors on a day-to-day basis on development projects and problems related to the constituency.


    "Sidhu also informed us that he would visit his constituency on a daily basis to learn the ground reality, besides interacting with the common voters to sort out their grievances," Ms Sharma said.


    "About the present situation, Sidhu said everybody has to face volatile circumstances in life," said Gareesh Kumar, a Sidhu supporter and Monika Sharma's husband.


    The former minister reportedly said his resignation didn't matter as he has quit earlier from the Rajya Sabha as well.


    But some councillors, considered close to the politician, stayed away from the meeting. Others didn''t want to talk about their interaction with him.


    His refusal to assume charge of the power department for more than a month had embarrassed the Congress with opposition parties attacking the Amarinder Singh government over the issue.


    With the paddy sowing season on and a rising demand for power in summer, Amarinder Singh monitored the department's functioning in his absence.


    On July 14, Mr Sidhu made public on Twitter his June 10 resignation letter addressed to then Congress president Rahul Gandhi, sent just four days after his portfolio was changed.


    Mr Sidhu sent a resignation letter to Amarinder Singh's official residence in Chandigarh the next day, while the chief minister was away in Delhi.


    Earlier, Amarinder Singh said if Mr Sidhu didn't want to do his job, "there is nothing I can do about it".


    The tension between Mr Sidhu and the chief minister came out in the open in May when Amarinder Singh blamed him for the "inept handling" of the Local Government Department, claiming it resulted in the "poor performance" of the Congress in urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls.


    The former cricketer, however, said his department was being "singled out publicly" and asserted that he could not be taken for granted as he has been a "performer throughout".


    He approached Rahul Gandhi on June 9 and "apprised him of the situation".


    During the Lok Sabha election campaign, Mr Sidhu had cornered the Amarinder-Singh led government over the desecration of religious texts in 2015, asking why no FIR was lodged against the Badals who ran the government then.


    "If he is a real Congressman, he should have chosen a better time to air his grievances, instead of just ahead of the voting in Punjab," Amarinder Singh had then said.


    "He is harming the party with such irresponsible actions. It is not his election but that of the entire Congress," he said.


    Last year in Hyderabad, Mr Sidhu said, "Rahul Gandhi is my captain... Rahul Gandhi is the captain of the captain (Amarinder Singh) also."


    Amarinder Singh had also disapproved of Mr Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to the neighbouring country.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    If Woman Succeeds Me, Must Be Attractive: Dalai Lama Doubles Down

    The spiritual leader was interviewed by Rajini Vaidyanathan who asked about his thoughts on a female successor.    

    If Woman Succeeds Me, Must Be Attractive: Dalai Lama Doubles Down

    Vajpayee Wanted Pakistan Army Camp Hit After Parliament Attack

    Admiral Sushil Kumar also says that while External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh wanted India to support the US war on Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11, the military chiefs disagreed -- and Vajpayee diplomatically went with the latter option.

    Vajpayee Wanted Pakistan Army Camp Hit After Parliament Attack

    A Teenager Dies Every Hour In Road Accidents In India: NGO

    A Teenager Dies Every Hour In Road Accidents In India: NGO
    In a shocking revelation, at least 25 teenagers are killed in road accidents everyday -- or an average of one each hour -- in India, coming to a whopping total of around 9,400 annually, an NGO said here on Friday.

    A Teenager Dies Every Hour In Road Accidents In India: NGO

    85% Indian Moms Want School Fees Reduced: Survey

    85% Indian Moms Want School Fees Reduced: Survey
    Eighty five per cent of mothers who participated in a survey demanded a reduction in this year's budget while 81 per cent demanded more schools for children with learning abilities.    

    85% Indian Moms Want School Fees Reduced: Survey

    ‘Don’t Spare Rapist Baba’: What Twitter Thinks About Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s Prospect Of Parole

    ‘Don’t Spare Rapist Baba’: What Twitter Thinks About Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s Prospect Of Parole
    Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has sought parole for 42 days for farming on his land in Sirsa.    

    ‘Don’t Spare Rapist Baba’: What Twitter Thinks About Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s Prospect Of Parole

    Hockey Legend Balbir Singh Senior Admitted Again To Hospital Following Ill Health

    Three-time Olympic gold medal winning hockey legend Balbir Singh Senior was again admitted to a hospital here following ill health but his condition is stable, his family said on Wednesday.    

    Hockey Legend Balbir Singh Senior Admitted Again To Hospital Following Ill Health