Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu launched his recently announced political forum on Thursday, saying the Awaaz-e-Punjab was for the “resurrection and redemption” a state that is in dire straits.
“It’s time to speak the truth… There is a tradition in India that good people are kept as decoration pieces and used only for campaigning… Awaaz-e-Punjab is a revolutionary voice,” Sidhu said at a news conference in Chandigarh.
Sidhu has joined hands with three top voices against the state’s ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance -- former India hockey captain and suspended Akali MLA Pargat Singh and Ludhiana-based powerful independent state lawmakers and brothers Simarjeet and Balwinder Singh Bains.
Also read | What is Awaaz-e-Punjab? A forum, not party... final call in 15-20 days: Sidhu
The Awaaz-e-Punjab, or the voice of Punjab, will likely shake up the state’s political landscape so far dominated by the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance and the opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
On Thursday, the 52-year-old said: “Our war is with the system that ruined Punjab and Punjab cannot be saved by people with vested interests.”
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the 52-year-old said: “Our war is with the system that ruined Punjab and Punjab cannot be saved by people with vested interests.”
{{/usCountry}}There were speculations earlier that Sidhu and Pargat might join the AAP, which aims to end a decade of Akali-BJP rule in the state, but has been struggling with a crisis over the removal of its local convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur for alleged corruption.
The new forum is a surprise stroke from Sidhu and is seen as the culmination of his tense equation with the BJP, which he quit last month. He has been a three-time MP of the party from Amritsar.
Sidhu said on the Thursday he did not quit the Rajya Sabha to join the AAP.