Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday resigned as Punjab chief minister after a months-long tussle with the party’s Punjab unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu over leadership allegations. Ahead of the crucial Punjab Assembly elections due next year, the Congress party was torn between two political poles within the party’s Punjab unit.
Singh submitted his resignation to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan. After this his council of ministers also met the governor and resigned from the cabinet posts.
On Thursday, Harish Rawat met Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and sources said they were asked to resolve the ongoing dispute within the party as legislators once again started raising their voices over who would call the meeting. was equal to.
Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh ever since he left the Punjab cabinet as a minister in 2019. He had become more vocal in his views in the last few months.
Here are some points on when and how Navjot Singh Sidhu and Amarinder Singh’s relationship turned bitter:
1. According to media reports, Singh was never in favor of Sidhu when he joined the Congress in 2017 just before the Punjab Assembly elections. This became a bit clear when Sidhu publicly said in November 2018, “My captain is Rahul Gandhi, who is also his (Amarinder’s) captain. Wherever I went, I went with his approval.”
2. Sidhu’s portfolio was changed from a local body to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy in 2019. However, he did not take charge of his new department. The rift became even more apparent when reacting to Sidhu’s mannerisms, with Singh saying, “Maybe he is ambitious and wants to be the chief minister.”
In the same year, Sidhu resigned from the Punjab cabinet, but what raised eyebrows at the time was Sidhu’s move to send his resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi.
3. On November 25, 2020, the two leaders met over lunch, prompting speculation that Sidhu may be re-inducted into the state cabinet. A media advisor to the chief minister had then said that the two leaders spent an hour together at Singh’s residence in Punjab and shared views on various issues.
4. Both Singh and Sidhu met again on March 18 this year over tea in Mohali for about 50 minutes, following which speculations arose that Sidhu would be re-inducted into the state cabinet. Singh had said that he had known Sidhu for decades and he would do what was good for the party and the state.
5. In July this year, Sidhu was declared Punjab Congress chief after weeks of fighting with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
6. Last month, four ministers and nearly two dozen party MLAs raised a revolt against the Punjab CM, saying they had no faith in Amarinder Singh’s ability to deliver on unfulfilled promises. Four ministers- Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi had raised the demand for replacement of the Chief Minister.
7. The Congress on Saturday called an expedited meeting of its legislature party in Punjab at 5 pm in response to the legislators to discuss issues within the party.
8. Sources also revealed that majority Hindu leaders are wanted. Sources said that Navjot Singh Sidhu or Sunil Jakhar could become the new leader of the legislature party. He further said that the high command is hopeful that Singh will respect the decision of the majority MLAs in the legislature party meeting.
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