Sidhu vows to end Badal rule

Former Amritsar MP and cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu’s entry into its fold, just weeks ahead of Punjab Assembly elections, has helped the Congress’s campaign strategies.

The party believes Sidhu’s popularity and his record of winning all the elections he has contested would help it to come back to power.

The Congress also calculates that Sidhu’s presence would help the party to extend its base among Jat Sikhs. Sidhu was particularly proud about his Jat Sikh identity at a press conference he addressed at the AICC headquarters here on Monday. Sidhu, who kept the Congress guessing for almost four months since he quit the BJP, had also parleyed with the AAP — a strong contender in Punjab.

Maintaining that he had not bargained for anything, he said it is premature to comment on who will become the Chief Minister of the State.

When asked about his comments against Congress leaders in the past, he said they were made when he was with the BJP and were not personal. Joining the Congress is like ghar wapsi for him, he added.

Targeting the Badal family and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), he said his intention is to save the dignity of Punjab and get it rid of the corrupt government led by the SAD-BJP alliance. “I am not here for any personal agenda but for the redemption of Punjab,” he said, adding that the Badal family has been looting the State for the past 10 years.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said Sidhu kept bargaining till the end. “The person who has left his mother party (BJP), one which gave him respect, hand-held him...what can be worse than this? He ditched the very party,” he told reporters in his home constituency of Lambi.

“Till the end, he kept bargaining... What can I say about such persons? People do not respect such individuals. They respect only those who stand by principles and reject those who bargain and give up on their principles.”

Sidhu said his father Bhagwant Singh Sidhu was a freedom fighter and was in the Congress for 40 long years and, therefore, joining the Congress was like coming back to his roots for him. He said he has no differences with Punjab Congress president and the party’s campaign chief Amarinder Singh. “If Lalu and Nitish can come together why can’t I and Amarinder join hands?” he said.

He, however, was silent on questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When asked about his relationship with the BJP, he said the party wanted to continue with the alliance with SAD and he wanted to work for Punjab.

He said certain people played in between to destroy his relationship with the BJP, which gave him Lok Sabha ticket four times from Amritsar.

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