Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Monday made shocking claims saying that Pakistan PM Imran Khan had lobbied for state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu so that he could be inducted into his cabinet. Capt Singh claimed that Khan said Sidhu was his old friend and he would be grateful if “ you can keep him in the government”.
Responding to the claims, Sidhu dubbed Amarinder Singh as a “spent cartridge” without commenting further. Singh made these claims at a press conference held to announce NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Punjab elections. “After I dropped Navjot Sidhu from my government, I got a message from Pakistan that he is an old friend of their prime minister and he would be grateful if you can keep him in the government. If he (Sidhu) doesn’t work, then you can remove him,” Singh said at the press conference at BJP headquarters.
#WATCH | Pakistan PM had sent a request if you can take (Congress Punjab president Navjot Singh) Sidhu into your Cabinet I will be grateful, he is an old friend of mine. You can remove him if he’ll not work: Punjab Lok Congress president & former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh pic.twitter.com/88jSfIpfQ8— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2022
Amarinder Singh had dropped his arch-rival Sidhu from his cabinet in 2019 following tensions between the two. Singh quit as the Punjab CM last year citing humiliation after an acrimonious power tussle with Sidhu and floated a new party, Punjab Lok Congress. He is fighting the Punjab elections in an alliance with the BJP.
Amarinder always shared a bitter relationship with the cricketer-turned-politician and was also against the Congress’ decision to appoint him as the state party chief. In his scathing resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi last year, Amarinder had said that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi had “patronised Pak-acolyte Sidhu”.
Sidhu responds
Reacting to the former CM’s remark, Sidhu dubbed the ex-CM as a “spent cartridge” while refusing to make any further comment at a press conference where he attacked the Aam Aadmi Party, describing as a scam the survey it conducted to select its CM face. Congress leader Alka Lamba, who was also present, responding to a volley of questions, said they will give their reply on the former CM’s charge in the next press meet.
(With PTI inputs)
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