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Amarinder, Sidhu to meet over tea today
Punjab Congress affairs in-charge Harish Rawat met Amarinder and Sidhu in Chandigarh last week, hoping for “positive developments”
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh has invited former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for tea on Wednesday.
The two leaders will meet over tea at 4pm at Amarinder’s farmhouse near Chandigarh amid speculation about the former minister’s rehabilitation, according to sources. Earlier, the CM had invited Sidhu for lunch, but the programme was changed due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Covid meeting at 12.30pm.
The meeting will be the second between the chief minister and his former cabinet colleague, who have not been on the best of terms for a long time, in four months. They had met in November 2020 to break the ice.
The party circles have been abuzz for the past several weeks with talk of behind-the-scene attempts to ensure the estranged leader’s return to the state cabinet or make him the state unit president. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat, who has been batting for an “important role” for the cricketer-turned-politician, had met Amarinder and Sidhu separately in Chandigarh last week and sounded hopeful of “positive developments soon”.
Though the former minister is said to be keen on the Punjab Congress president’s post as the assembly polls are now less than a year away, Amarinder has not been amenable to having him as head of the state unit.
Sidhu had quit the state cabinet in July 2019 after the chief minister divested him of the local government portfolio, blaming his “inept handling” of the department and for the poor performance of the party in urban pockets during the Lok Sabha elections.
Sidhu kept a low profile thereafter, staying away from most party events till Rawat cajoled him and ensured his presence at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s tractor rally against the farm laws five months ago.
