Sidhu's resignation a setback for Priyanka Gandhi?
Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Sep, 2021 10:52 AM
New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation as Punjab Congress chief is seen as a setback for party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who was at the forefront in the appointment of the former cricketer over the objections of then Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh .
Now questions are being raised in the Congress over the selection of Sidhu. Senior leader Kapil Sibal directly targeted the Congress high command over the issue and said that this is not good for the border state or the party.
Sidhu resigned much to the dismay of the Congress party and on the day when the party was going gaga over the joining of Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani. Due to the Punjab mess this could not get prominence in the media as well as the public. The party is upset over his resignation and has asked emissaries to settle the issue.
Sidhu on Wednesday said he will fight for the 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 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 said categorically.
Without mincing words, he said he would not accept tainted ministers being brought back into the newly constituted state cabinet led by Charanjit Singh Channi, a first-time Scheduled Caste Chief Minister in the state.
In the video message in Punjabi, the cricketer-turned-politician, who said his only religion is to make people's lives better, said he had fought for justice and for Punjab's agenda.
"What I witness is a compromise with issues, agenda in Punjab," he said.
Even the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has directed all state governments and Union Territory administrations to use the word Scheduled Caste instead of Dalit for persons belonging to SCs.
The non-recognition of the Covishield vaccine has impacted the Indians, especially students travelling to the UK. This issue was flagged during the meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Monday in Washington DC.
She reached Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, by air in the morning from where she headed straight to her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's cottage located amid forests of pine and cedar on the suburbs of the Himachal Pradesh capital.
Channi took oath of office along with his two deputies -- one a Jat Sikh and another belonging to the Hindu community -- at a simple ceremony here in the Punjab capital that was delayed for 20 minutes owing to the late arrival of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Jasbir Singh Virk, president of Bhartiya Sikh Sangthan, has underlined the need to intensify the ongoing farmers' agitation and said that there was a need to shore up strength at the Delhi borders.
Punjab BJP President Ashwani Sharma told IANS that to control infighting in its party state unit, the Congress leadership made Channi ji (Charanjit Singh Channi) the Punjab Chief Minister but insulted the Dalit community by not allowing him to lead the party in the upcoming state Assembly polls.
