Navjot Sidhu adamant on 18-point agenda, Delhi meeting today

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 13

Ahead of his meeting with AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat in New Delhi tomorrow, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu today indicated he won’t compromise on key issues concerning the state that he had raised.

PCC chief Raises key demands

• Early justice in sacrilege, police firing cases and action in drug-trafficking case
• Stopping “loot of Punjab’s money, which is going into private hands”
• Increasing the revenue of the state, generating employment, ending mafia raj
• Increasing the income of farmers through crop diversification

Compounding problems for the party high command that wants to bring Sidhu and Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on the same page ahead of the Assembly elections expected early next year, the PPCC chief took to Twitter today to remind the government about the 18-point agenda. He also pointed out “pending” action on the report submitted by the special task force (STF) in the multi-crore drug racket case linked to political bigwigs.

Sharing on Twitter a video of his interaction with his media team, the cricketer-turned-politician stressed he was “firm on his stand on these issues”. His media team also said the PPCC president would continue to serve the party “without compromising on these issues as well as his ethics”.

‘No compromise on issues’

Sharing on Twitter a video of his interaction with his media team, the cricketer-turned-politician stressed he was “firm on his stand on these issues”. His media team said the PPCC chief would continue to serve the party “without compromising on these issues and his ethics”.

In the video, Sidhu is heard talking about the need for efforts towards “stopping the loot of Punjab’s money, which was going into private hands; increasing the

state’s revenue, generating employment, ending mafia raj, raising the income of farmers through crop diversification and opposing the central farm legislations”.

Though Rawat, in a tweet yesterday, had pointed out that organisational matters related to the PPCC were to be discussed, Sidhu has again flagged the issues of “delay in justice in sacrilege and police firing cases and action in drug-trafficking case.

A senior leader privy to the development said the party leadership wanted clarity from Sidhu on what exactly he wanted after he posted his resignation on Twitter on September 28. The high command is likely to tell him to concentrate on forming and strengthening the state unit, besides listening to his viewpoint on the issues raised by him.