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More Punjab ministers target Sidhu for his ‘my captain’ remark, want him to apologise to CM
Addressing a press conference in poll-bound Hyderabad on Friday, Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had said Congress president Rahul Gandhi was his captain and that chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was “an army captain”.
A day after four Punjab ministers demanded local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation for his “Rahul my captain” remark, more ministers rallied behind chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday and sought an apology from the former cricketer.
Transport, social security, women and child development minister Aruna Chaudhary said: “What Sidhu said about Capt Amarinder is unfortunate. Amarinder is our undisputed leader. He is the chief of the party in Punjab and every cabinet minister works under his leadership.” She, however, did not say that Sidhu should step down, a demand made by ministers Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Saturday.
“Captain defeated Arun Jaitley from Amritsar in 2014 Lok Sabha polls when BJP was winning all over the country. The Congress won Punjab too under his leadership. So the question of anyone challenging his authority does not arise,” Chaudhary said in a statement.
Education minister Om Prakash Soni too showed solidarity with the CM saying Amarinder is the captain of the party in Punjab. “What Sidhu said is not right and not expected of a minister,” said Soni. He, however, did not comment when asked if he wanted Sidhu to step down.
Public works minister Vijay Inder Singla also came out in support of the CM saying Sidhu should apologise for his remarks. “The whole Punjab respects the CM. What Sidhu has said has hurt the people. I hope Sidhu will take back his words.”
Addressing a press conference in poll-bound Hyderabad on Friday, Sidhu said Congress president Rahul Gandhi was his captain and that chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was “an army captain”.
But the silence of other cabinet ministers is rankling the Amarinder camp. Of the 17 ministers, four have sought Sidhu’s resignation and four, including Sukhjinder Randhawa, Vijay Inder Singla, Soni and Chaudhary, have objected to his statement. Other ministers have refused to comment.
The loyalists of CM are likely to rake up the issue at the cabinet meeting on Monday. But Sidhu seems unfazed by the storm brewing back home. “I am busy campaigning till the 5th of this month and will not be able to attend the cabinet meeting. My programme has been fixed by the party high command and I have to address five rallies on Monday in Rajasthan,” he said.
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar has maintained stoic silence on the issue so far.
