Captain Amarinder Singh strongly opposed the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as Punjab Congress President.
Chandigarh:
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is scheduled to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday ahead of the much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in the state. It also comes amid strong indications that his long-running feud with the party’s new state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is not over.
The meeting in Delhi assumes significance as the state awaits a cabinet reshuffle, though the chief minister had ruled out immediate reforms of his ministerial team, as PTI reported on July 31.
The more contentious point, however, may be that even weeks after Captain Singh’s reluctance to relent, was promoted to his new post, Mr Sidhu remains his target on the state government.
While both the chief minister and the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee have made public statements about working together as a team, the cricketer-turned-politician doesn’t indicate any promise.
On Monday, the latter once again cornered his government over inaction against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia and others who were allegedly involved in a 2018 drug trafficking case.
Sidhu said, “Punishment of drug dealers is a priority under the 18-point agenda of the Congress. What action has been taken against Majithia? If there is any further delay, we will bring a resolution in the Punjab Assembly to make the report public.” ” Tweeted today.
In a series of tweets, he questioned the government’s actions to tackle the drug menace, without naming the chief minister.
In February 2018, the STF, headed by ADGP Harpreet Sidhu, filed a “status report” in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to examine the statements and evidence recorded by the ED that Bikramjit Singh Majithia and other drug traffickers The matter of joining was presented before the Hon’ble Court. 1/6 pic.twitter.com/ZRNBoiPNCk
Navjot Singh Sidhu (Hersheriontop) August 9, 2021
On July 31, Captain Singh had claimed that his government had already implemented several steps ahead of the 18-point agenda given by the Congress high command. These include cases related to sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, drug problem in Punjab and power purchase agreements.
An outspoken critic of Captain Singh, Mr Sidhu was made the Punjab Congress chief on 23 July despite strong opposition from the chief minister, who publicly demanded an apology for such public condemnation.
The Chief Minister is also likely to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi tomorrow in light of the recovery of “tiffin bombs” and grenades from a village in Amritsar.
The seizure was made during a search operation launched after the police received inputs about drone activity in the area.
In November last, Captain Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the sighting of drones near the International Border in Punjab. He highlighted the impact of such aerial vehicles in the transportation of weapons across the border.
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