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word Once the most popular face of the BJP in Punjab, the Amritsar MP is disillusioned and barely left with a toehold in party affairs. Is he going to stick it out or call it quits? By Perneet Singh
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with an honest approach, impeccable reputation, the gift of the gab, an infectious smile, a clean heart and a vibrant personality, when former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu decided to bat on political pitch in 2004, he would not have realised that some of these very factors will one day make him feel suffocated in the political arena.
Nine years after he contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar for the first time against Congress heavyweight RL Bhatia, Sidhu’s political career seem to have reached the crossroads. Once the most popular face of the BJP in Punjab, Sidhu is feeling sidelined in the saffron brigade today and not even thinking of contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as has been hinted by his wife. Seen closely, the downturn in his political career started in 2009 when he defeated senior Congress leader OP Soni in the Lok Sabha elections by a meagre 6,858 votes, which was down by a whopping over 90 per cent compared to his win in the Lok Sabha bypoll in 2007 against the then Punjab Finance Minister Surinder Singla by 77,626 votes. The last Lok Sabha elections also saw Sidhu’s political equations with two of his colleagues — Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina and Anil Joshi, who is now Punjab Industry Minister — going sour. A straightforward Sidhu minced no words while stating that both Chhina and Joshi did not support him, which is why he lost from their Assembly segments in Amritsar. Joshi had won Amritsar North seat in the 2007 Assembly elections while Chhina had lost from the Amritsar West constituency. Sidhu has been nursing a grudge against Chhina since. He even came out in the open against Chhina’s appointment as Amritsar Improvement Trust Chairman after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, contending that he be removed from the key post as he had not helped him in the elections. He left the city, saying he will return only after Chhina’s removal. The BJP ultimately had to concede his demand. Even now, Chhina’s induction as the state BJP vice-president does not seem to have gone down well with Sidhu and is being seen as one of the reasons behind his “disillusionment” with politics. His equation with Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, whose stature has grown in the new stint of the SAD-BJP government, is not any better. The two engaged in war of words during the local body elections last year. Political innings Throughout his nine-year stint in politics, Sidhu has always been a vocal leader, be it the floor of the Lok Sabha or any election campaign. He has a knack of delivering powerful speeches packed with facts, figures and wit, and sprinkled with one-liners famously known as “Sidhuism” and couplets in Urdu and Hindi in his inimitable style. His command over English, Hindi and Punjabi is flawless, which makes him a good orator. This has immensely contributed to his growing popularity and making him the star campaigner of the BJP, not only in Punjab, but also in other states. He has raised various issues concerning Amritsar in Parliament in an impressive manner, whether it be seeking Heritage City status for the city or lodging protest over the “stepmotherly” treatment to the Amritsar airport. When it comes to campaign, his unique style is matchless as his speeches fill party workers with enthusiasm and his glamour quotient pays rich dividends to the party. His “to the point” and witty speeches strongly send across the party’s message to the voters while at the same time evoking peels of laughter as he takes potshots at the rivals. However, at times this has gone against him. In the recent Gujarat elections, his unwarranted remarks against the dominating Patel community had left Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi displeased. Besides, his straightforward approach and the habit of speaking his mind, usually not seen as attributes of politicians, have gone against him and led to the situation where he finds himself today. The key trait of being subtle and diplomatic seems to be missing in his personality. Vibrant personality Ever since he made his debut on the small screen, Sidhu has changed the conception towards Sikhs, who were often projected as comic characters on television and films. His crisp dressing and colourful turbans have become a style statement over the last nearly a decade. The Pathani suit and neon turbans that he sported in a reality show, Bigg Boss, have made it to the wardrobe of the fashion conscious. The Amritsar MP has a huge collection of colourful ties and turbans, besides a rich collection of watches worth Rs 22 lakh and a gold ring worth Rs 5 lakh. He also owns a fleet of vehicles, including a Toyota Land Cruiser worth Rs 11 lakh, BMWs worth Rs 94 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, a Toyota Corolla worth Rs 3.5 lakh and a Fortuner costing Rs 21.43 lakh. Partner on same pitch Eight years after he jumped into the political battlefield, Sidhu was joined by his better half Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu who left her profession as a doctor to contest from the Amritsar East Assembly seat. She won the seat and went on to become the Chief Parliamentary Secretary. The first year of her stint has turned out to be quite an eventful one with her courting controversy on more than one occasion. She had been at loggerheads with Punjab Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal over a sting operation to nab government doctors undertaking private practice and again regarding an invite to attend a conference in London. All said and done, the moot question today is what will Sidhu do now? Will he “return” to politics if the BJP “restores his honour” or has he made up his mind to return to the profession (cricket expert and small screen) where he is respected for his work? Will he draw inspiration from “Sidhuisms” — “When you fall on your back, the only place you can look is up” or “I have lit a lamp in many a storm” — and fight his way up in politics? |
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news How does one come out of neck-deep mess created by oneself? Vishal, a young entrepreneur-in-making, a qualified engineer with three patents to his credit and settled in the UK had his entire life sorted out, or that is what he thought. Until, he fell prey to drugs.
And then started a downward spiral of extreme addiction, alcohol and drug abuse, end of a budding career and severed family ties. “My apartment in London was home to all the junkies in the neighborhood and I had several criminal cases to my name. I was put into two rehabilitation centres by the UK authorities, but in vain,” he shares. So, after living life on the edge for 13 years, Vishal finally could not take it anymore. That is when he decided to clean up the mess with his mother’s help. Similar is the story of 40-year-old Nitin Gupta, a successful and high-profile businessman from Ferozepur who had spent almost 20 years with alcohol abuse. His addiction took him away from family and sanity. Reaching out Names may change, but the story remains the same for many others who have or are still dealing with addiction, a poison running through the veins of Punjab. But with Hermitage, a few have been able to not only overcome it, but also help others deal with this toxic mess. Located on the peaceful outskirts of Amritsar, the one-of-its-kind residential rehabilitation is being run under the patronship of Dr JPS Bhatia, a nuero-psychiatry and drug de-addiction professional. The quaint place has become a haven for those who chose wrongly between life and drugs. Along with detoxification and drug abuse programmes, Hermitage also provides family services and out-patient reach. It runs on two fundamentals — celebration of life and family bonding. “The process of substance abuse and drug addiction has been so rapid in Punjab that people did not get time to educate themselves on rehabilitation. For most, it meant dumping addicts at random centres, where they are tortured rather than treated, kept alone, and involving a procedure fraught with high risk of relapse. There is a stigma attached to drug abuse and addicts are treated as social evil. So, I came up with a humanist rehabilitation centre, where they are treated with love and care,” says Dr Bhatia, who has been in this field for 25 years. Patients at Hermitage live along with their families. “Most drug abuse patients come with an element of criminality and certain degree of psychosis. The aim is to get the family involved in the healing process,” he says. Turning counsellors There are over 100 patients who have successfully come out of their addiction, though they are still recovering. They volunteer to counsel new patients. “The first thing to understand is that drug addiction is a disease which can be cured. Patients who come here have made a conscious choice to come out of it. Every week we have families of addicts under recovery come and share their experiences, only to form a chain that will act as a mental deterrent for drug abuse,” says Vishal, who is under “We have successful rehabilitation patients helping those under recovery, so the experience comes from someone who has gone through the pain and struggled with addiction,” he says. The main focus of the programme is the family. “Most times, it is the family who is under denial and fails to understand the problem of addiction. The family has to understand that an addict is a patient and not an anti-social element,” says Namrata, a teacher and wife of a recovering addict, Nitin Gupta. Hiding will not help. “It is a common notion that the educated and elite class do not fall prey to drug abuse. Addiction of any kind is not about how educated or aware one is, it is about how vulnerable one is. We had come out with our problem and others followed,” she says. The centre also has Wisdom Group, comprising patients who have been celebrating sobriety for years and meet to guide families of addicts. Sharing stories of addiction while highlighting the process of transformation of their lives, the group encourages others to be a part of something big. “Drug addiction recovery process needs two magic words — time and patience. Since substance abuse involves a lot of complexities like mental blocks, legal implications and social exploitation, everything has to be dealt with sensitivity. Self-change is as important for the family dealing with an addict as for the addict himself,” says Dr Bhatia. Belongingness is another key word. Patients cook, clean, maintain and meditate at the same time. “While doing so, we have to rise from the debris of our own destruction and reach out,” he adds. Those who recover are employed as counsellors, managers and supervisors. The underlying manner to fight addiction is to learn to love the ones struggling with it by taking action. “All we need is love,” says Vishal. Guess, the Beatles already knew!
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