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Winds of change: Navjot Sidhu flexes muscle after Amarinder camp seeks apology

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 7/22/2021 12:01:58 PM

New Delhi, July 21 The appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief with the authoritative stamp of Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not ended his feud with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The tussle for hegemony in the Punjab Congress ahead of the assembly election continues. Captain Amarinder Singh expressed his unhappiness with Navjot Sidhu’s elevation, first by complaining to Sonia Gandhi over her interference in the Punjab Congress, then by skipping lunch with Sidhu and finally with his camp demanding a public apology from Sidhu for a patch-up. At 57 and with the assured backing of the Gandhi trio, Navjot Sidhu has refused to bow down to the 79-year-old Punjab chief minister, the oldest CM in India. Soon after his elevation, Navjot Sidhu undertook a consolidation drive making the political life of Captain Amarinder Singh more difficult. Navjot Sidhu hit the ground with a series of meetings with party workers and leaders presenting his Punjab Model for next year’s assembly election in a challenge to Captain Amarinder Singh’s model which failed to deliver on the promises made in the 2017 Congress manifesto. After reaching out to party leaders including about 40 MLAs on the first two days after being appointed the Punjab Congress president, Navjot Sidhu held a meeting with 62 MLAs on Wednesday. The Congress currently has 77 MLAs including Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. And, he followed it up with a post on microblogging site, Twitter, that read: “Winds of change — of the people, by the people and for the people.” It came with a video showing Navjot Sidhu being cheered by huge crowds. Navjot Sidhu led the MLAs to the Golden Temple in Amritsar in a symbolic commitment to the Sikh cause over which he has targeted Captain Amarinder Singh in recent times alleging that his government deliberately went slow on the 2015-sacrilege case. On the other hand, Captain Amarinder Singh, though advancing in age, has refused to cow down in the wake of the political aggression from a younger Jat Sikh Congressman. Captain Amarinder Singh opposed appointment of Navjot Sidhu as the Punjab Congress chief saying the two top positions from the party should not be given to Jat Sikhs. But Navjot Sidhu succeeded in convincing the Gandhis that he was the best bet under the given circumstances.