The Congress’ Punjab leader, Navjot Singh Sidhu, this morning launched a strong attack on six party MLAs who cross-voted in Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha election – handing the party a defeat in an exercise it should have won with ease – and then appeared to ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The shock Rajya Sabha loss has triggered a political crisis in the hill state – in which the Congress cantered to a win less than two years ago – with the BJP now demanding that Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu’s depleted government prove its strength in the 68-member House.
“Himachal fiasco calls for an assessment of assets and liabilities for the ‘Grand Old Party’…”
Mr Sidhu then ripped into “‘masqueraders’… covertly dancing to the tunes of agencies like CBI, ED…” and declared the Congress well-rid of leaders who “prioritise personal gain over the collective good”.
“‘Masqueraders’ (for) plum posts, covertly dancing to the tunes of agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, and Income Tax Department, have spelt doomsday for us many-a-times!” the former India cricketer posted on X.
The Himachal fiasco calls for an assessment of assets and liabilities for The Grand Old Party ??? …. “Masqueraders” on plum posts covertly dancing to the tunes of agencies like CBI, ED and IT have spelt dooms day for us many a times !
The loss is not @DrAMSinghvi Sahb’s but…
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) February 28, 2024
“The loss is not Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi saheb‘s but larger… It is essential to purge the party of those who prioritise personal gain over the collective good, for their actions inflict profound wounds on the party’s very existence. The wounds might heal but the mental scars will remain…”
“Their gain is the Congress worker’s biggest pain. Loyalty is not everything but the only thing!!!”
The cricketer-turned-politician’s sharp comments come amid tension (yet again) between himself and the Congress, after he held rallies across Punjab without clearance from the party’s state unit.
Senior leaders Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Partap Singh Bajwa have both warned the cricketer-turned-politician, whose run-ins with ex-chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi were seen as contributing to the party’s heavy defeat in the 2022 election.
The face-off has also sparked speculation Mr Sidhu may be planning a return to the BJP, which he left in 2017. Should he do so, he will join a short but significant list of Congress leaders – which includes Amarinder Singh and former state unit boss Sunil Jakhar – who have crossed the aisle in Punjab, and will add to the party’s problems before the general election.
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