Farmers Movement Archive

Amarinder by his side, Sidhu takes charge as Punjab Cong president

Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday took over as president of the Punjab Congress in the presence of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh who said they will work together for the welfare of Punjab as the party sought to present a united front after months of infighting and ahead of the run-up to the assembly elections early next year.A day after he appeared to soften his stance towards Sidhu by deciding to attend the taking-over ceremony of the new Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee team, Singh struck all the right notes in his address to party workers, saying “It is your responsibility to support the party president.”After the Congress elevated Sidhu as the head of the party’s state unit, overruling the chief minister’s objections, yet maintaining that it would fight the 2022 elections under Singh’s leadership, a reconciliation was always on the cards -- although Singh’s aides said that this could happen only if Sidhu apologised for some of his very public statements against the chief minister. It wasn’t immediately clear whether an apology had been proffered.It also remains to be seen if the rapprochement survives a Congress victory in 2022, given that Sidhu has never disguised his ambitions. Still, it was all good cheer and bonhomie on Friday.Ahead of the ceremony, the two bonded over breakfast at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.Tensions between Singh, 79, and Sidhu, 57, who quit the state cabinet in 2019, have simmered since that year but flared up in May after the government suffered a legal setback in a 2015 case of police firing on a crowd protesting the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. That was under the Shiromani Akali Dal government headed by the Badals, and Singh was accused by some in the Congress as being soft on them.Sidhu quickly rallied support as leaders opposed to Singh coalesced around him and raised other issues as well -- the failure of the government to keep its 2017 election promises, and the dependence of Singh on some powerful bureaucrats. The Congress’ central leadership set up a three-member committee. The panel met around 150 functionaries – it also met Singh twice -- and submitted its report to party chief Sonia Gandhi on June 10. It rapidly became clear that Sidhu had the support of both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, both of who, it is believed, see him as the future of the party in the state.Sidhu was a BJP lawmaker who quit and almost joined the Aam Aadmi Party before signing up with the Congress in 2017.After taking charge at the state Congress headquarters, he said there was no difference between an ordinary worker of the party and its state unit chief. “Every Congress worker in Punjab has become the chief of the party’s state unit from today,” the Amritsar East MLA said.The cricketer-turned-politician said he would back the farmers protesting against the three farm laws. “I want to tell Punjab farmers that the biggest mission of my presidency is that the power of the government helps them and improves their lives. We shall make a difference, we have to make a difference. I want to tell farmers that their agitation is pious.”“Those oppositions, who speculated a rift in our party, look at us today, we are together and united,” he added.Sidhu also raised the Sacrilege issue, saying “CM Saab we have to resolve the (sacrilege) issue, then, we will be called true Sikhs… As President I resolve to take all these cases to a conclusion,” he announced to cheers from the partymen who were present in large numbers.In his address, Singh went down memory lane and recalled his old Patiala ties with Sidhu, saying: “I was commissioned in the army, the year Sidhu was born. When my mother asked me to enter politics, his (Sidhu’s) father helped me. I used to go to his house when he was about six years old.”“We will move together in politics. We have to think of Punjab’s welfare. When Sonia Gandhi told me that the party wants to make Sidhu as state unit chief, even then I had told the media that whatever decision Soniaji will take, will be acceptable to us.” the CM said.The chief minister took the opportunity to highlight his government’s achievements. “The state emerged number one in the fight against Covid and was rated first in primary education besides making the biggest contribution to the country’s food bowl,” he said.In his address, outgoing state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar referred to some of the issues and said: “We were hit by red tapism in our government. Our workers suffered due to that, but we still have time. We can course correct it even now.”Looking at All India Congress Committee general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, Jakhar said: “Rawat ji please tell Sonia ji that the revival of the Congress goes through Punjab.”

Hindustan Times

24-07-2021

Chandigarh