Navjot Singh Sidhu resigns from Punjab Congress

Amritsar: Barely 10 days after Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down as the state chief minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu put down his papers from the post of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, a move that fuels the fire of a bitter political power tussle between the two.

The ongoing crisis in the Punjab Congress unit could prove ominous for the party as it prepares for a re-election in the 2022 Assembly polls.

The hasty exit of Sidhu from the post of Punjab Congress chief just two-and-a-half months into his tenure yet again indicates that his objective was to dethrone Amarinder from the post of CM.

After stepping down, Amarinder Singh said that he had offered his resignation to interim party chief Sonia Gandhi three weeks back, but she had asked him to continue as CM.

“If she had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have…As a soldier, I know how to do my task and leave once I am called back,” Singh had said.

Stressing that he has been in politics “for the last 52 years” and been chief minister “for nine-and-a-half years”, Amarinder alleged that Sidhu had a connection with Pakistan and that it would prove costly to the party.

“The thing is that this is the third time the party called the MLAs. You have an element of doubt on me… I feel humiliated. As far as my future politics is concerned, there is always an option and I will use that option when time comes. I am in the Congress party. I will talk to my supporters and decide future course of politics,” he had told reporters after submitting his resignation to Governor Banwarilal Purohit on September 18.

Following his resignation, the Congress appointed Charanjit Singh Channi, believed to be a close confidante of Sidhu, as the Chief Minister.