Rahul Gandhi, Navjot Sidhu want top posts, but no responsibility: Punjab CM Mann
Mann said when Sidhu was a minister in the Congress government, he could have done something for people’s welfare
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday took a swipe at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying both aspired to top posts without taking responsibility or delivering on the ground, but people want them to do something first.
Addressing the media in Chandigarh, Mann said when Sidhu was a minister in the Congress government in Punjab, he could have done something for the welfare of people had he undertaken the responsibility of his departments.
Rahul Gandhi and Navjot Sidhu have one common problem, he claimed: “Rahul Gandhi says ‘make me PM, I will do something for the people’. But people ask him, first do something, then we will make you the Prime Minister.”
“It is the same with Navjot Singh Sidhu. He says ‘make me the CM, I will do something for Punjab’. People ask him to do something for Punjab, then they will make him the chief minister,” said Mann, taking a jibe at both the leaders.
A few days ago, Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu said her husband would return to active politics if the Congress declared him as the party’s chief ministerial face in Punjab. She said they did not have money to give to any party but can transform Punjab into a “golden state”.
Her “ ₹500 crore for chief minister’s chair” remark had sparked a political row and she was later suspended by the Punjab Congress.
Asked to comment on the Sidhu couple’s claim of being honest, Mann said he was nobody to give the certificate of honesty. However, he said he has not received any document which indicated their corruption. “Otherwise, I would have made it public by now,” he said.
‘Sidhu solved no problems as minister’
The chief minister said when Sidhu was the urban development minister in the previous Congress government, he could have solved the problems of uncleanliness, sewerage problems, street light problems and road problems in cities.
Later, Sidhu got the department of power, an important portfolio, said Mann. “We (AAP government) have made electricity free. Sidhu should have undertaken the responsibility of this department and should have said that he would give 600 units of power (for free). Had Amarinder Singh (the then chief minister) refused it, then he (Sidhu) could have told people that he wanted to give free power, but Amarinder refused. He would have been a hero, and if Amarinder accepted it, even he would have been a hero. It was a win-win situation,” said Mann.
Mann said Amarinder Singh had previously claimed that Sidhu did not sign files of his department for six months. “(Navjot) Sidhu sahab did not take the responsibility of his ministry and the portfolio which he had; he did not sign a file,” he alleged.
In 2019, Sidhu resigned from the then Amarinder Singh cabinet. He had divested Sidhu of the local government and tourism and cultural affairs departments and allotted him the power and new and renewable energy portfolio. But Sidhu did not take charge of the power department.
