Navjot Singh Sidhu meets Rahul Gandhi, submits a letter
NEW DELHI : Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is at odds with state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on Monday met party president Rahul Gandhi and leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Taking to Twitter, Sidhu mentioned that he has submitted a letter to Rahul Gandhi, apprising him of the “situation”.
Sidhu had arrived in New Delhi on Friday to meet the party’s top leadership. Earlier today, the cricketer-turned-politician shared his picture with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Ahmed Patel.
“Met the Congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation!” Sidhu captioned the tweet. Notably, Sidhu, who was allocated a new portfolio last week, has not assumed his new office yet, exposing the rifts between the Punjab Chief Minister and the Cabinet minister.The sulking former cricketer-turned-politician is yet to take charge in his new ministry.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh did not include Sidhu in key consultative groups announced on Saturday to analyse and evaluate progress and make changes, if required, in the state government’s flagship programmes and schemes.
“Met the Congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation (sic),” Navjot Sidhu tweeted on Monday. It is not confirmed whether Mr Sidhu offered his resignation, as some reports suggest.
That he did get an audience with the party leadership in his running feud with Amarinder Singh is seen as very significant. Mr Sidhu had reportedly been camping in Delhi since Friday to try and meet Rahul Gandhi, who has himself offered his resignation over the Congress’s drubbing in the national election. Two weeks since he made his decision clear before the Congress Working Committee, Rahul Gandhi has refused to change his mind despite his party men pleading with him.
In a bleak national election performance, Punjab delivered a relatively better outcome for the Congress. The party won eight of 13 Lok Sabha seats but is plagued by the unrelenting turf war between Amarinder Singh and Mr Sidhu.
Mr Sidhu accused the Chief Minister of blocking his wife Navjot Kaur’s candidature from Amritsar. In a sulk, he went off the grid for more than 20 days without any explanation. On the day of the results, May 23, Amarinder Singh had said the Congress failed to do well in urban areas because Mr Sidhu had handled his portfolio poorly.
On June 6, hours after the first state Cabinet meeting since the election — Mr Sidhu skipped that meet — the Chief Minister reshuffled the portfolios of most of his ministers, including Mr Sidhu.
Amarinder Singh said the changes he had made to ministers’ portfolios would “help further streamline the governing system and processes” and bring more transparency and efficacy to various departments.(With Agency Inputs ).
