Navjot Sidhu's aide & Congress MLA Pargat Singh alleges threat from Punjab CM's advisor

In a sensational development, Navjot Sidhu's aide and MLA Pargat Singh alleged that he been threatened with a police case signalling a growing rift within Congress. Addressing a press briefing on Monday, the former Indian Hockey team captain revealed that he received a phone call from Captain Amarinder Singh's political secretary Captain Sandeep Sandhu in this regard. According to him, Sandhu conveyed the CM's message that he should be ready to face action. 

Pargat Singh was among those who participated in a recent meeting of MLAs and Ministers to pressurize the Chief Minister to act against the perpetrators of sacrilege and police firing cases. Expressing disbelief that Amarinder Singh could give such a threat, he decried the priorities of the government at a juncture when the entire country is grappling with the COVID-19 crisis. Earlier, Sidhu had dared the Punjab CM to take action amid speculation that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau was investigating some allegations against him and his aides. 

The rift between Navjot Sidhu and Amarinder Singh

A two-term BJP MP from Amritsar, Navjot Sidhu grew distant from the saffron party after he was denied a ticket to contest from this seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. While he was nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP in 2016, he resigned from the party and joined Congress a year later. After winning the Amritsar East seat in the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls by a margin of 42,809 votes, the ex-swashbuckling batsman was inducted into the Cabinet. However, the ties gradually went worsened leading to Sidhu tendering his resignation from the Cabinet in July 2019.

Some of the events that triggered this move include the Punjab CM openly slamming Sidhu for his 2018 visit to Pakistan where he hugged Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, losing key portfolios and denial of ticket to Navjot Kaur Sidhu in the 2019 General Election. While the former cricketer continues to be an MLA, he has maintained a distance from party activities. While Singh and Sidhu attempted to resolve their differences over tea on March 17, 2021, a positive outcome proved to be elusive. The relationship took a turn for the worse after the Punjab & Haryana HC quashed the SIT probe into the firing cases on April 9. 

Breaking his silence on Sidhu's attacks, Singh on April 27 dared him to contest from Patiala in the 2022 polls and predicted that he will lose his deposit. Moreover, he contended that the cricketer-turned-politician wanted to join some other party. Ruling out the possibility of replacing Sunil Jakhar as the Punjab Congress president, the CM asserted that he would oppose the suggestion of giving the top post to Sidhu. Additionally, he also dismissed the claim of the ex-BJP MP on the Deputy CM's position.