After ‘friendly match’ barb, Sidhu fires ‘collusion’ salvo

Taking his differences with chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to the next level, Sidhu on Friday had exhorted the people to defeat those “who are playing a friendly match” while addressing a rally in Bathinda in support of Congress candidate Amarinder Singh Raja Warring

Two days after he talked of “friendly match” at an election event in Bathinda with regard to ‘inaction’ by the Capt Amarinder-led government against culprits of sacrilege incidents, Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday appealed to the Congress rank and file to “defeat those who are in collusion (with opponents) and damaging the interests of the party”.

This time as well, Sidhu did not name anyone, but he reiterated no action has been taken so far against the SAD leaders who had a role in sacrilege incidents of 2015.(HTPhotos)

This time as well, he did not name anyone, but he reiterated no action has been taken so far against the SAD leaders who had a role in sacrilege incidents of 2015.

“Entire community is hurt by sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, the pages of which were torn and found on streets and in drains in 2015. All know, wounds of the soul remain forever. Public is the real court to deliver justice in this case and it is the special investigation team (SIT) as well. So, I appeal to it (the public) to bring the culprits to justice,” Sidhu said after casting his vote here.

“Is vote ko chhota mat samjhna. Jo millibhagat ke saath chal rahe hein, thok do unko. (Don’t consider your vote useless. Defeat those who are colluding),” he said.

Taking his differences with chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to the next level, Sidhu on Friday had exhorted the people to defeat those “who are playing a friendly match” while addressing a rally in Bathinda in support of Congress candidate Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

Asked to clarify on the ‘friendly match’ remark, Sidhu’s wife and former MLA Navjot Kaur said, “You need to listen to his statement carefully. The party leaders whether big or small, who work for personal gains and cheat the party, don’t deserve to remain in the party. The public know the party has many such traitors.”

Responding to a query on Captain Amarinder Singh’s statement wherein he said that he will resign as CM if Congress loses all 13 seats in Punjab, she said, “Of course, he should resign, because two years have passed since the Congress came to power in the state and this much time is enough to perform.”

She had earlier claimed that Captain Amarinder Singh played a role in denying her party ticket from Chandigarh, and the statement endorsed by her husband.