Ending the months of simmering skirmish with his Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, the cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday made his departure from the Cabinet official.
Sidhu got his resignation letter “delivered” to the Chief Minister at his official residence at Chandigarh in the morning protesting against the change in his portfolio over a month after he was divested of Local Government Department.
Only a day before, Sidhu made public his month-old resignation letter, dated June 10, addressed to the then Congress national president Rahul Gandhi. Capt Amarinder, on June 6, conducted the portfolio reshuffling exercise, following which Sidhu met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi on June 9, and finally putting in his papers on a day after.
Just like he shared his resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi on Twitter on Sunday, Sidhu also announced getting his papers delivered to the Chief Minister’s residence on the micro blogging website.
Capt Amarinder, who was in New Delhi for meeting the Prime Minister and other Union Ministers, said that he was yet to see and read Sidhu’s resignation. “I am yet to go through the contents of Sidhu’s letter, which is not public yet, and would do so once I return to Chandigarh in a day or two,” he said while talking with the media outside the Parliament.
Maintaining that he was not happy with “anybody going”, Capt Amarinder insisted that there has to be “some discipline”, while adding that Sidhu should have taken over the charge of his new Department like other ministers whose portfolios had been reshuffled.
He stressed that Sidhu should have taken over the charge of Power Department first “and if, later on, he felt that he wanted some other portfolio, that could have been considered in future”.
Ever since Sidhu was divested of Local Government Department and given the Power portfolio, Sidhu had gone incommunicado and did not assume the charge of his new Department even after a month.
In his absence, Capt Amarinder had taken upon himself to look after the Power Department which, in the wake of summer season and ongoing paddy transplantation process, holds great significance in the state.
Capt Amarinder had been convening meetings of the Power Department, taking significant decisions amidst the complaints of power shortage and electricity theft, and also seeking daily reports of the power availability.
“I thought power is an important thing for Punjab, one of our most important thing, so I gave it to Sidhu, but he did not want it.
So I said once a decision has been taken, you can’t say I will take this and I will not take that...It’s like some General saying I am not going to get posted to Ladakh, send me to Manipur. How can you say this? You have to do what you are told to do,” said the 77-year-old Chief Minister firmly.
Asked if it was embarrassing for his government that differences between him and Sidhu were playing out in the public, the Chief Minister stressed he had no issues with him.
“No, it is not embarrassing for the government. Look, there has to be some discipline in the organisation. After seeing the performance of our ministers, I have shifted them around where I thought somebody is good in a particular job, I have given him that job,” he said asking how come the “12 other ministers have taken over job”.
Capt Amarinder maintained that there was nothing to be happy about. “I am not happy about anybody going,” he said while also making it clear that he had “no fight with Sidhu”.
At the same time, the Chief Minister clarified that he did not oppose the Lok Sabha candidature of Sidhu’s wife and former MLA Dr Navjot Kaur and rather suggested her candidature from Bathinda, which the couple rejected.
Sidhu, a former BJP leader, had joined the Congress ahead of the 2017 Punjab assembly polls.
Capt Amarinder and Sidhu have been at loggerheads on several issues.
While Sidhu had on several occasions made an indirect attack on the Chief Minister for not acting against the Badals and Majithia while, time to time, making disclosures on cable mafia, drug mafia, among other things.
Capt Amarinder also left not opportunity to target the former cricketer for his cordial relations with Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Sidhu, who enjoys proximity with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi too. even went on to say that Rahul is his captain that raised a lot of controversy. It was Sidhu’s “friendly match” jibe during election campaigning in Bathinda that finally went against him
