Navjot Singh Sidhu launches frontal attack on Punjab govt; rejects Cabinet berth offer

Breaking his silence a day ahead of his meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Navjot Singh Sidhu made it clear that he wasn't interested in any Cabinet berth. This comes amid speculation that Sidhu is being offered the post of the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister. Writing on Twitter, the Congress MLA stressed that he had served as a Lok Sabha MP, Rajya Sabha MP, MLA and Minister with the sole aim of changing the "system" that runs Punjab.

In several interviews so far, he has described the "system" as two powerful families controlling Punjab and overriding the interests of the state for their vested interests. According to the former swashbuckling cricketer, he had rejected all offers of being accommodated in the Cabinet after the "system" refused to initiate any reform. This is seen as a veiled attack on Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, who has been accused by Sidhu of protecting the Badals. 

Earlier on June 11, the three-member committee formed by Gandhi comprising Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, ex-Delhi MP JP Agarwal, and AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat had submitted its report. Constituted on May 28 in the wake of the increasing rift between the Navjot Singh Sidhu and the Amarinder Singh factions, the panel met all stakeholders to ascertain their views ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls. While Amarinder Singh is likely to remain the CM, Rawat and Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar might be replaced. 

The rift between Sidhu and Amarinder Singh widens

While Navjot Singh Sidhu has continued to be an MLA after resigning from the Cabinet in July 2019, he maintained a distance from party activities. Moreover, he has been repeatedly attacking the state government and the Punjab CM over the purported delay in justice in the incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib and the subsequent police firing incident. Though 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. Furthermore, he contended that Sidhu wanted to join some other party.  In another development, the ex-cricketer has dared Amarinder Singh to take action amid speculation that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau is investigating some allegations against him and his aides.