Section of Punjab Congress leaders targets Navjot Singh Sidhu, wants him expelled from party

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, December 20

Former PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday came in the firing line of a section of state Congress leaders.

At least five former MLAs, including Kulbir Singh Zira, Inderbir Bolaria, Davinder Ghubaya, Lakhvir Singh Lakha and Amit Vig, current MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, besides Punjab Youth Congress chief Mohit Mohindra, and leaders Khushbaz Jattana and Navjot Dahiya have demanded that Sidhu be expelled from the party.

Leaders close to me being ignored: Sidhu

• Sidhu took to social media to share a letter from former MLAs Najar Manshaiah, Rajinder Samana and others, who had reminded LoP Partap Bajwa that neither them nor Sidhu were “welcome” at state Congress events
• The Congress leaders mention that organising a rally for the betterment of the party should not be discouraged and that they were being discriminated against for their “proximity” to Sidhu

The factionalism in the state Congress unit comes when the party-backed INDIA bloc is reportedly in final talks on seat-sharing for the 2024 General Elections to counter the BJP-led NDA.

In a statement on Wednesday, the leaders said: “It is time that the Congress high command shows the door to former PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu. Even though we respect him as the former chief of the state Congress committee, his actions often work against the interests of the party.”

The statement adds: “Till date, he has only focused on self-glorification and has never supported the party’s agenda. This is something which needs to stop.”

Sidhu took to social media to share a letter from former MLAs Najar Singh Manshaiah, Rajinder Singh Samana, Maheshinder Singh and Raminder Amla, and other leaders, who had reminded the Leader of the Opposition that neither them nor Sidhu were welcome at state Congress events.

The fresh trouble for the former PPCC chief came after he targeted his party colleagues and former Chief Ministers Charanjit Singh Channi and Capt Amarinder Singh during a rally in Mehraj, Rampura Phul. He had blamed Channi for the poor performance of Congress in the 2022 Assembly elections.

LoP Partap Singh Bajwa had advised Sidhu to desist from holding “own stages” and join his colleagues at events organised by the party. Bajwa said: “I would only request him to act with some maturity. He was the PPCC chief and saw the Congress come down from 78 to 18 MLAs in the 2022 Assembly election results. I invite him to participate in party protest being held tomorrow.”

PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said he would request Sidhu to come on the party platform to raise issues in the interest of the state. “We are organising rallies in the coming days. All leaders are invited,” he said, without commenting on the demand raised by a section of party leaders.