Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has heaped praise on Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu – whose repeated criticism of his own party has made life difficult for him ahead of next year’s elections – saying that the former cricketer is “on public issues”. … but Congress is hell- bent on suppressing it”.
What Sidhu said on stage yesterday… I appreciate his bravery. (Chief Minister Charanjit) Channi was saying that ‘I have ended the sand mafia in the state and have reduced the price of sand to Rs 5 per kg.’ Immediately, Sidhu said, ‘No… it’s a lie. The rate is still Rs 20,” Mr Kejriwal told reporters.
Sidhu himself said that whatever promises Channi is making are false. Sidhu is raising public issues but Congress is bent on suppressing them. first captain Sir (Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh) and now Channi Sir Putting pressure on him… SidhuYes Doing a great job of sticking to our principles.”
Mr Kejriwal took his own pot-shots at Mr Channi, drawing from Sidhu’s playbook accusing the ruling Congress of failing to deliver on the 2017 election promises in Punjab.
To campaign for next year’s elections in Punjab, the Delhi chief minister also dismissed speculation of his party’s chief ministerial candidate, saying “we will announce it to them (Congress and BJP)”.
He said, “In Punjab, Congress is not declaring that Channi or Sidhu will be the CM face. In UP, BJP is not declaring that Yogi or any other CM face will be there. Same for Goa and Uttarakhand.”
Mr Kejriwal’s praise raised eyebrows earlier this year (and last year) given rumors that the former cricketer might be joining the AAP.
Those rumors surfaced at the height of the Amarinder-Sidhu feud, when the Captain called Sidhu an “opportunist” and said he might join the AAP. A furious Sidhu hit back and challenged Mr Singh to prove that he had met Arvind Kejriwal or any leader of any other party.
Reports from last year quoted Mr Kejriwal as saying “he (Sidhu) is welcome”.
Sidhu, who joined the Congress from the BJP before the 2017 Punjab elections, has been vocal in his attacks on his own party and Chief Minister Channi for next year’s elections, a relentless attack when Amarinder Singh was in charge. ,
Those attacks further widened the gap between himself and Mr. Singh and brought the Congress’s Punjab government to the brink of collapse before Amarinder Singh left the “disgraced” post.
Last month Sidhu, who has since also clashed with Mr Channi – wrote to Sonia Gandhi – a 13-point agenda on “priority areas” of governance and the promises made to the Punjabi people ahead of the 2017 elections. These include action in the 2015 sacrilege case and crackdown on the sand mafia.
Mr. Singh’s biggest critic, Mr. Sidhu, had expected him to rise to the top post, but given the large Dalit population, the Congress opted to install Mr. Channi as chief minister.
Sidhu then got into trouble with Mr Channi after he took over, dropped out of top appointments and cabinet reshuffles. Sidhu threatened to step down unless he got his way, which he did last week after the Chief Minister appointed his choice as the Advocate General.
In his letter, outgoing Advocate General, APS Deol slammed Sidhu for “spreading misinformation to gain political advantage over allies”.
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