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| Navjot Sidhu Sends Resignation To Chief Minister Month After Quitting | | | CHANDIGARH, PUNJAB: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the Punjab cabinet last month amid a long-running feud with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, today said he has sent his resignation to the chief minister.
The resignation "has been delivered at the official residence" of Amarinder Singh, the cricketer-turned-politician tweeted today.
On Sunday, Mr Sidhu shared his resignation letter on Twitter and said he had submitted it to Rahul Gandhi on June 10. The 55-year-old leader met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi last month after he was stripped of key portfolios in cabinet reshuffle last month amid a fallout with Amarinder Singh.Punjab Chief Minister reshuffled the state cabinet in the first meeting after national elections on June 6. He took away the Local Government portfolio from Mr Sidhu and assigned him Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources. Mr Sidhu's other portfolio of Tourism and Cultural Affairs was also taken away.
Today, Amarinder Singh, who is in Delhi, confirmed he has received Mr Sidhu's resignation. "We have 17 state ministers. I changed the portfolio of 13 ministers including him. When I will return to Punjab, I will look into it," Mr Singh said.
Amarider Singh, widely known as "Captain", was upset with Mr Sidhu ever since he attended Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan's swearing-in ceremony in Islamabad. In November, Mr Singh, who was facing criticism over Mr Sidhu's Pakistan visit for the inauguration of Kartarpur Sahib corridor, said he had asked Mr Sidhu to reconsider his decision to go to Pakistan.
Mr Sidhu had hit back at the chief minister saying he had gone to Pakistan with Rahul Gandhi's approval. "Captain Amarinder is Army Captain. My Captain is Rahul Gandhi," he had said then.
Months later, Mr Sidhu accused Amarinder Singh of blocking his wife Navjot Kaur's Lok Sabha election candidature from Amritsar.
The feud between Mr Sidhu and Captain Amarinder Singh escalated after the election result. The chief minister said the Congress,which won eight of 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, failed to do well in urban areas because Mr Sidhu had handled his portfolio poorly. Mr Sidhu then struck back saying that he was being unfairly "singled out" for the party's poll performance.
After the reshuffle on June 6, Mr Sidhu went on Facebook live soon and said: "I cannot be taken for granted...I have been singled out in spite of collective responsibility."
His resignation has added to the troubles brewing within the Congress, which faced a crushing defeat in the national elections.
Rahul Gandhi's decision to quit as the Congress chief last month led to a spate of resignations in the party. Last week, Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, and Mumbai unit chief Milind Deora stepped down from their posts. |
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