Earlier this month, in a veiled attack at Punjab CM, senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu shared a 2016 video clipping of Capt Amarinder wherein he can be seen promising to send Badals to jail for Kotkapura firing incident if elected to power.
It is also pertinent to mention here that, the Chief Minister breaking his silence over Sidhu’s continuous allegations on him over sacrilege case, has termed Sidhu an "opportunist".
Capt Amarinder also challenged Sidhu to contest against him from Patiala and meet the fate of General J.J. Singh who had lost his security deposit.
In his two interviews to private channels, Capt Amarinder hinted that Sidhu is not clear in which party he was and that he was allegedly in talks with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and has plans to switch party.
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A week later, In another tweet, Sidhu while sharing a 2016 video clipping of Capt Amarinder wherein he can be seen promising to send Badals to jail for Kotkapura firing incident if elected to power, wrote, “Sad !! Due to incompetence of Home Minister, Govt is forced to accept orders of the High Court, which the People of Punjab are standing up against. Giving 6 months to New SIT, extends the delay of Govt’s biggest poll promise, unfortunately up-to next elections code of conduct”.
However, taking strong exception to the no-holds-barred 'attack' unleashed by Navjot Sidhu against Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, several Punjab Cabinet ministers in a joint statement on Monday urged the Congress high command to take strict disciplinary action against the dissident MLA.
The Cabinet ministers, including Brahm Mohindra, Sunder Sham Arora and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, came out in strong criticism of Sidhu's actions and open criticism of the Congress Chief Minister while being an elected MLA from the same party.
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Terming Sidhu's onslaught on the Chief Minister as an act of gross indiscipline and an attempt to undermine the Congress government, the ministers said the MLA's personal attack on Amarinder Singh was an anti-party act, which called for immediate disciplinary action.
Sidhu's recent spate of comments against the Chief Minister could no longer be dismissed as the rantings of a disgruntled member of a democratic political party, said the ministers, adding the open rebellion was damaging the interests of the Congress at a time when Assembly elections in the state were less than a year away.
Failure to take action against Sidhu now could trigger unrest in the party's state unit, which would be fatal for the party, which had suffered major electoral blows in the recently concluded Assembly polls in five states, the ministers warned.
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According to the sources, Punjab CM is ready to fill the vacant position of Sidhu in his cabinet in a few days. It may be noted here that Sidhu tendered his resignation on June 10, 2019 following a change in his portfolio and since then, the post is vacant.
After Sidhu’s constant criticism, a section of party leaders is now singing the same rhyme as Sidhu and alleging that the state government has failed to do justice to all significant issues.
A secret meeting of the cabinet ministers with Navjot Sidhu has hinted at the ongoing political turmoil within the party.
According to the reports, Jail Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa is among one of the leaders who has now joined the hands with Sidhu in the war of words against the CM. The other rebellious leaders are Rajya Sabha member Pratap Bajwa, MP Ravneet Bittu, MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon.
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Reportedly on the afternoon of May 10, these leaders held a meeting with Navjot Sidhu in Chandigarh.
It may be noted here that a few days ago, Sukhjinder Randhawa had met Sidhu at his close associate and Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh.
In an interview with the news channel, MP Bittu has also raised questions to the CM for not being able to resolve the matters fairly. He has even said that CM Captain Amarinder Singh must drop the ‘home ministry’ as he could not bring justice in the Kotkapura Firing case.
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Bittu further added that CM must look out for other deserving candidates who can handle the ‘home’ portfolio diligently to serve justice in various pending cases.
And now, Sidhu tweeted the following: