Sidhu to meet Rahul, Priyanka on Tuesday

The two leaders are likely to discuss with the former minister his role in the organisational set-up of the party or the Punjab government

Amid uncertainty over the Congress high command’s peace formula for the faction-ridden Punjab unit, former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu will meet former party president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday.

Sidhu to meet Rahul, Priyanka on Tuesday

Sidhu, who has been targeting chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh over delay in justice in sacrilege cases and other unkept promises, will meet the two leaders in Delhi, an aide of the former minister said on Monday. His meeting with Rahul and Priyanka comes at a time when the party high command is making efforts to end factionalism ahead of next year’s assembly polls in the state.

Rahul and Priyanka, general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh, are likely to discuss with the former minister his role in the organisational set up or the government. A three-member committee constituted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to resolve the rift had, in its report on June 10, suggested that Sidhu should be suitably accommodated to end the factionalism in the state unit.

While Sidhu is said to be keen on heading the state Congress despite his statements to the contrary, Amarinder is not amenable to having him in the position. The Amritsar East MLA, who quit the state cabinet over his differences with the CM two years ago, upped the ante about a week with a spate of interviews in which he accused Amarinder of colluding with Badals.

Meanwhile, Sidhu, in a series of tweets on Monday in support of protesting farmers, suggested transforming social movement of unions into a sustainable economic power by influencing political decision makers with progressive agenda, beyond mere repealing of black laws. “Farmers can be game-changers in 2022 for resurrection of Punjab. Unions can transform their power into an economic force via cooperatives,” he tweeted, reiterating his demand that Punjab should give MSP on pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits.