‘No meeting with Sidhu’, says Rahul hours after former Punjab minister leaves Patiala for Delhi

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh/New Delhi, June 29

Hours after former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu left his Patiala residence to have the much-talked about meeting with senior party leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday at Delhi, the former Congress president said “no meeting with Sidhu (Navjot Singh Sidhu)” as he left from his residence for 10 Janpath, party’s president Sonia Gandhi’s residence, on Tuesday evening.

Rahul Gandhi gave the statement to some media channels, waiting outside his residence anticipating the meeting between the two leaders.

Sidhu was learnt to have arrived in New Delhi for the meeting. His office had yesterday confirmed his proposed meeting with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Sources in the AICC said there was “no meeting scheduled between him and the Gandhis as of now”. Repeated efforts to reach out to Sidhu’s office on Tuesday remained futile.

With the reports of Sidhu’s meeting the Gandhis going viral ahead of the meeting, sources did not rule out the possibility of the party’s top leadership being unhappy over news about the meeting going viral much before. They might try to keep the meeting under wraps or reschedule it. The meeting could take place in the coming days, it is learnt.

However, there was no confirmation whether Sidhu separately met Priyanka Gandhi or not.

“As the meeting between the Gandhis and Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is yet to happen, reports of party’s top leadership meeting Sidhu before meeting the CM could create further problems in the state units that is already facing crisis,” a senior party leader said.