Putting up a united show after months of acrimony, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu bonded over high tea at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh on Friday morning before the cricketer-turned-politician took charge as state Congress president.
Capt Amarinder Singh had invited all Punjab Congress MLAs, MPs and former PPCC chiefs for tea at Punjab Bhawan at 10am, an hour before the time fixed for Sidhu’s installation as the new Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief. The CM’s invite came on Thursday afternoon soon after Sidhu reached out to Capt Amarinder Singh through two of the four working presidents, Kuljit Singh Nagra and Sangat Singh Gilzian.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Punjab affairs Harish Rawat kept a close eye as Capt Amarinder and Sidhu sat side-by-side.
Sidhu had reached Punjab Bhawan but left the complex a couple of minutes before Amarinder arrived. Senior leaders from Amarinder group said Sidhu kept Amarinder waiting at the table for nearly 10 minutes and showed up only after Rawat rang him up. However, Sidhu camp claimed he had gone to perform ‘ardas’.
“Such a pleasure seeing you here, Sir! I was already here. But had left only a few minutes before to perform ardas,” Sidhu told the chief minister as he reached the main table where Rawat and Amarinder, along with other senior leaders, were waiting for him.
{{/usCountry}}“Such a pleasure seeing you here, Sir! I was already here. But had left only a few minutes before to perform ardas,” Sidhu told the chief minister as he reached the main table where Rawat and Amarinder, along with other senior leaders, were waiting for him.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu’s usual flamboyance was muted as he greeted the chief minister with folded hands longer than usual. He tried to sit across the table but was persuaded by some ministers and Rawat to sit beside the chief minister.
Former PPCC chiefs HS Hanspal, Partap Singh Bajwa, Lal Singh, MPs Manish Tewari, Jasbir Singh Dimpa, Santokh Chadudhary, Mohd Sadiq and Preneet Kaur were present. Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu didn’t turn up.
Ministers loyal to Captain, including OP Soni and Vijay Inder Singla, shared the table with the CM and Sidhu, while those belonging to the ‘Majha-Express group’ — Tript Bajwa, Sukhjinder Randhawa and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria — sat elsewhere.
Sidhu, in his trademark maroon Pathani suit with a coordinated scarf, was occasionally seen exchanging peasantries with Amarinder. At times, Rawat involved both the leaders in conversation.
The two were together for more than half-an-hour before they left for the Punjab Congress Bhawan in Sector 15, Chandigarh, for Sidhu’s installation ceremony, in separate vehicles.
A senior Congress functionary, who was present at the high-tea, requesting anonymity, said, “Both the leaders sat together as a formality; they were not comfortable at all. Let’s see what happens next.”