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Pargat, Bolaria suspended

Sukhbir: They’re ‘fly-by-night’ MLAs | Akalis say both may switch sides

Ruchika M. Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

Former Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Inderbir Singh Bolaria and Olympian Pargat Singh, who had refused to accept the post of CPS earlier this year, were tonight suspended by the Shiromani Akali Dal. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said he had suspended the two for indiscipline and anti-party activities. Akali leaders said the two disgruntled MLAs were in Delhi yesterday and had met Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha as well as the BJP on Monday. Though Pargat denied that he was in Delhi, Akali leaders said he too was in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party and was thinking of switching sides. 

Sukhbir said the two leaders were “fly-by-night” politicians who had come to the Akali Dal just before the elections. 

Both MLAs, once considered close to Sukhbir, had fallen out of favour during the past year. Bolaria, an MLA from Amritsar, had developed differences with the party leadership last year and was amongst the first to rebel. He had attempted a coup of sorts by trying to create a front of three MLAs against the party leadership, even as there were talks of his switching loyalties to the Congress. Though Bikram Singh Majithia, the powerful Akali leader from Majha, acted promptly and won over the other two MLAs, Bolaria was left to fend for himself. 

Pargat too had rebelled last year over the issue of the government planning to construct a solid waste disposal plant at Jamsher village in his constituency of Jalandhar Cantonment. In the past several months, he had neither attended any party meeting, nor come to functions in his constituency presided over by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal or Sukhbir.

Since April, when he embarrassed the top brass by declining to accept the post of CPS, the party leaders had virtually snapped their ties with  him. His seat is likely to be offered to Sarabjit Singh Makkar. (with inputs by Deepkamal Kaur)

Sidhu has quit BJP, I haven’t: Navjot

MLA: We are opportunists? Badal himself is most opportunist person on earth

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 19

Amritsar lawmaker and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu today confirmed that her husband’s innings with the BJP was over. She, however, clarified that she would continue to “serve as a legislator of the BJP”.

“There is no question of his going back on his decision. Resigning from the Rajya Sabha technically means he holds no position in the party. I think he has very clearly suggested what he is going to do. Let him come out with his plans,” she said. The doors were closed for Sidhu when the BJP didn’t endorse his idea of snapping ties with the SAD ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls, she added.

Edit: Advantage Navjot Sidhu

“He resigned from the Rajya Sabha as the BJP leadership chose the Badals over him. We had clearly suggested that we would never participate in any way if the BJP forged an alliance with the SAD for 2017. Sidhu apprised them of SAD’s deliberate move to scuttle his pet projects, but his pleas went unheard. When the BJP chose to continue the alliance with SAD, it was clear that the doors were closed for us,” she said. “Being an RS member also, Sidhu wanted to serve Punjab, but the BJP seldom had it on its list of priorities. So, he felt suffocated,” she said.

She, however, said she would remain with the BJP. “Though I follow my husband in every sense, I am still with the BJP as I have the duty to serve the people of my constituency,” she added.

She admitted that she was “impressed with” the Aam Aadmi Party’s ideology and went to the extent of suggesting that it was the only party that could “transform Punjab”. She, however, refused to confirm reports that Sidhu might join AAP.

“I personally like the work culture of AAP. Kejriwal himself works at the ground level and I appreciate AAP’s ideology,” she said. “AAP is a better alternative,” she said.

She said the SAD-BJP had failed to deliver in Punjab and criticised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for calling the couple opportunists. “Badal himself is the most opportunistic person on this earth,” she said.

Alliance with SAD shut doors for us: Navjot Kaur

• Though I follow my husband in every sense, I am still with the BJP as I have the duty to serve the people of my constituency who elected me MLA
• He (Sidhu) is yet to decide on his next step. Technically, he is no more a member of the BJP. Let him come out to speak his heart and declare it openly
• I personally like the work culture of AAP. Kejriwal himself works at the ground level and I appreciate AAP’s ideology. AAP is a better alternative

Capt Amarinder invites Sidhu to join Cong

• Sidhu is welcome to join Congress if he desires to. His father, late Bhagwant Singh Sidhu, remained office-bearer of District Congress Committee. We are both from Patiala, we are both Sidhus. I’ve seen him playing when he was young. I don’t remember having met him for a long time now. — Capt Amarinder Singh

Sidhu becoming AAP face premature: Kejriwal

• Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday indicated that it would be premature to say that Navjot Singh Sidhu will be AAP’s face in Punjab. “There is nothing of that sort. He has just resigned from Rajya Sabha and I think all good people should resign from the BJP. I admire his courage,” Arvind Kejriwal said.

Advantage Navjot Sidhu

The BJP’s loss may become AAP’s gainWhile Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation came as a surprise even to the BJP, the lavish AAP praise for him leaves little scope for doubt where he is headed. Reports suggest he will be AAP’s chief ministerial face. With anything less than that AAP may not be able to attract and retain him. With three Lok Sabha wins and popular appeal — some find his comic acts irritating — his credentials are strong but will other contenders for the top post in AAP accept him as their leader? Sidhu is aware anti-incumbency may sink the BJP-SAD ship and the BJP had nothing more to offer him after the recent Cabinet expansion. Even if the C-Voter survey giving AAP 100 seats is exaggerated, the party is a serious contender for power in Punjab — a state which elected the only four MPs it has. 

Even though Sidhu and his doctor-wife had problems with the Badals and Majithia as well as the BJP after Amit Shah denied him the Amritsar ticket in 2014 and brushed aside their pleas for a break-up with the Akali Dal, the Rajya Sabha resignation is being linked to an AAP offer of a role. Navjot Kaur had recently scaled up her tirade against the Badals, alleging that drugs were supplied in official vehicles. Other BJP leaders toe the Akali line that Punjab is being “defamed” on the drug issue and put up with indignities to keep their job. The Sidhus also had the option of silence to stay in power. “In a war between right and wrong, you can’t afford to be neutral,” said the ex-cricketer. 

Political rivals of AAP project it as a party of “outsiders” who are unfamiliar with Punjab. The recent manifesto gaffe was effectively used to reinforce that view. In Sidhu AAP will get a prominent Jat Sikh with a clean image and a good campaigner who can not only erase the “outsider” tag but also take on the old war horses — Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh — more effectively since age is on his side. Not an unmixed blessing, however, Sidhu comes with a baggage that Arvind Kejriwal may be hard put to deal with.

Akalis keeping AAP busy in legal cases

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

Buoyed by the likely induction of former MP Navjot Singh Sidhu into the party, AAP is geared up for the state Assembly elections with new gusto. But the party has a legal battle to fight with the Akalis.

The Akalis have entangled AAP leaders, Including national convener Arvind Kejriwal, state party affairs incharge Sanjay Singh and senior leader Ashish Khetan, in defamation cases. They have plans to further intensify the legal battle, say party sources. The Akalis have moved an application in a court in Amritsar seeking the cancellation of bail of the three leaders, saying they continued to defame Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia and others on the issue of drugs.

"Either prove the allegation or you have no legal and moral authority to accuse anyone of a crime," said Majithia in a statement.

Himmat Singh Shergill, AAP's state legal head, said they were prepared for any legal battle. "A similar application was dismissed earlier. We will not let anyone succeed to keep our leaders entangled in court cases."

Now, roadways buses to sport CM’s image

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, July 19

After flagging off 50 hi-tech vans with LED screens last month to highlight its achievements, the SAD-BJP alliance is now set to use state owned buses for publicity.

The state government’s achievements, people- friendly schemes and photographs of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be seen on the buses next month.

The Public Relations and Information Department has been assigned the task at the district level. Officials in all districts have been asked to get quotations for this purpose.

“Under the ongoing publicity campaign, now the state-owned buses will be covered with the present government’s achievements and CM’s pictures. The number of buses will depend on their availability,” he said.

Ex-MP’s anti-Kejri clips go viral

Chandigarh, July 19

Amid speculation that he may join AAP, video clips showing Navjot Singh Sidhu mocking Arvind Kejriwal went viral on the social media today, a day after he resigned from the Rajya Sabha.

In the clips, purportedly recorded during the 2014 Delhi Assembly polls, Sidhu describes the AAP national convener as “Nautanki company wala Kejriwal Sahib”.

In one clip, Sidhu says, “Main (Kejriwal) politics kabhi join nahin karoonga, Aam Aadmi Party bana di. Main security nahin loonga, ‘Z’ security le lee. Main bangla nahi loonga, bangle mein khud jhadu maarne lag gaya, bangla le liya (I will never join politics, he said, but floated AAP. I will never take security cover, he took ‘Z’ security. I will not take a bungalow, he took it and started sweeping the floor himself).”

The former MP is also seen making fun of the Delhi Chief Minister’s chronic coughing. “Idhar dharna, udhar dharna. Tujhse khansi to theek nahin hui, Delhi kya theek karega (He is holding protests here and there... he cannot even cure his cough, how can he cure Delhi?),” he is heard saying in the clip. — PTI

MP Gandhi hits out at Navjot Sidhu, terms him opportunist

Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 19

Following reports that Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha yesterday, may join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), suspended MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi said it was a matter of convenience for both Sidhu and the party.

Dr Gandhi says it would be a sheer opportunism on part of Sidhu and the AAP. “He is the same Sidhu who was cracking jokes on Arvind Kejriwal during the Delhi elections last year. Moreover, he had stuck to the BJP for the past so many years despite its communal politics and didn’t utter a word when Punjab was being looted by the Congress and the SAD-BJP with both hands. Now, when the SAD-BJP ship is drowning, many people are leaving it in search of a safer place and Sidhu is no different,” he said.

Taking a dig at the AAP for welcoming the Sidhu couple, Gandhi said the party needed a shot in the arm since it was losing its credibility in Punjab, but this is a cheap politics.

“AAP’s popularity had gone down in the past few weeks following the controversy surrounding the manifesto and the alleged involvement of its MLA on the issue of sacrilege of the Quran. Therefore, it is just another way of reaching out to the masses through a popular face,” he said.

He said people in Punjab hoped for different kind of politics based on issues and principles, which neither AAP nor Sidhu would be able to provide.

Meanwhile, ousted Congress leader Bir Devinder Singh, former Deputy Speaker of Punjab, has warned Kejriwal against treating Punjab as a theatre for comedian circus.

He said Punjab had suffered immensely in the past few decades on almost every front and what it needs today was an extremely serious review of the prevalent pathetic state of affairs, with clinical precision.

“Arvind Kejriwal should know that the effective governance of the welfare state has been paralysed under the Badal family rule for quite some time. No lopsided approach can heal the wounds of Punjab. It’s terribly a serious task to handle the overall decay in Punjab in the given spiteful conditions. So Arvind Kejriwal, please for God sake, don’t treat Punjab as a theatre for comedian circus. People of Punjab expect all kind of absurdity to end now in February 2017. Enough is enough now and a new era of reconstruction and resurrection of Punjab must begin sooner than later,” he said.

Sidhu has crossed point of no return, AAP best option: Wife

AMRITSAR: Clearing air on her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha, Punjab chief parliamentary secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu said he had left the BJP and there was no chance of returning.

Addressing the media here on Tuesday, she said her husband will now play political innings in Punjab and doning the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) jersey was the ‘best option’.

She, however, maintained that she was still in the BJP and had not quit the party or the post of chief parliamentary secretary.

She also praised AAP’s manifesto and the working style of its convener Arvind Kejriwal.

“Navjot has taken his decision. His option is very clear. He is very clear on serving in Punjab. You can well understand what option he has to achieve that,” she said.

On when he will join the AAP and whether or not he will be the CM face of the party, Dr Sidhu said, “I don’t know what is going to happen next. Let Navjot announce himself. He will do that at an appropriate time. I am personally impressed by AAP’s ideology and Arvind Kejriwal’s working style,” she said.

She said her husband was always eager to play a role in the active politics of Punjab and when the BJP closed all doors for him do so, he quit.

“I feel he has done the right thing. Option is clear as people have seen the SAD-BJP combine as well as the Congress,” she saidOn her plans, she said, “Let Navjot announce his decision first. Whenever he will require my help, I will have to go.” She also appreciated the tweet of Kejriwal wherein he had saluted Navjot Singh Sidhu for his courage to relinquish the Rajya Sabha berth. She also visited parts of her Amritsar (East) assembly constituency and took stock of the development works. Hitting out at the BJP and its alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal, Dr Sidhu said they (the couple) were very clear on not working with Akalis, but the BJP brass preferred to continue with the alliance. She targeted chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and termed him the ‘biggest opportunist’. On deputy CM Sukhbir Badal’s attack on her husband, she said, “We are not bothered what he says.” She accused the Akali Dal of scuttling the projects envisaged by her husband when he was a Lok Sabha MP from AmritsarShe also criticised the SADBJP government’s performance, saying it failed to give even the basic amenities to the people.

Road rage death: Sidhu’s political career hinges on pending appeal

PATIALA: As cricketer-turnedpolitician Navjot Singh Sidhu pads up for a new political innings in Punjab after resigning from the Rajya Sabha, the electoral career of the threetime Amritsar MP hinges on a culpable homicide case appeal pending in the Supreme Court. An adverse decision from the apex court can jeopardise his political career.

With Sidhu set to switch sides, political opponents, who take him as a formidable challenge, have begun exploring legal options to rake up the road rage case. Sidhu had allegedly assaulted one Gurnam Singh following a roadside altercation in Patiala on December 27, 1988, leading to his death.

Initially, Sidhu and co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu were tried for murder (Section 302, IPC). Both were acquitted by the Patiala sessions judge in 1999 and the Punjab government challenged the verdict in the high court.

Overturning his acquittal by a lower court, Sidhu and Sandhu were convicted by the high court in 2006 under Section 304 (II) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and not for murder.

Both were sentenced to threeyear rigorous imprisonment each, along with `1lakh fine.Sidhu appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court, which suspended the high court verdict on January 23, 2007. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, now Union finance minister, had appeared for Sidhu in the apex court.

When this correspondent contacted victim Gurnam Singh’s family, his son Ripuinderjit Singh said, “We don’t want to make any comment. Kindly excuse us.” After the high court verdict in 2006, Ripuinderjit had expressed dissatisfaction over the ‘light’ punishment Sidhu had got.“The family is waiting for listing of the case in the Supreme Court. But one thing is clear, Gurnam’s family is still demanding stringent punishment for Sidhu and Sandhu,” said a close family friend.

Capt invites Sidhu to join Congress

PARTY THINKS SIDHU’S EXIT WILL SLICE AWAY SAD-BJP VOTES; DRAWS PARALLEL TO BJP’S FIELDING KIRAN BEDI AS CM FACE IN DELHI POLLS

CHANDIGARH: The prospect of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) set off tremors in the Congress camp, but the party not only betrayed the signs, its Punjab chief Captain Amarinder Singh went ahead and invited him to join the Congress. As the party waited anxiously for Sidhu’s next move, many state leaders admitted that a sulking Sidhu’s pact with AAP will add a new spin to the game. But it found solace in the conclusion that it will “hurt the ruling Akali-BJP alliance more than the Congress”.

The party that has so far been targeting AAP for not having “any credible CM face from Punjab like Capt Amarinder” may suddenly lose the very slogan to beat it with, in case Sidhu joins the rookie party. Even as announcement of Amarinder’s name as CM candidate is awaited, the AAP may announce Sidhu as its face and the Congress “trump card” may well go unnoticed when finally played. But party strategists believe not all that creates “media frenzy” works at the ballot box.

“The announcement of Kiran Bedi as Delhi CM candidate by the BJP too created a lot of buzz. But in the elections, the BJP was packed off in three seats. Even as Amritsar MP, Sidhu was called as the ‘missing MP’. If he was so popular, why did he not prove his mettle by contesting from some other seat in Punjab after being denied Amritsar? As a hyperarticulate person, Sidhu has the knack for going overboard. The social media is already buzzing with how he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and spoke against Arvind Kejriwal,” they said. Congress leaders contend it is the BJP that should be worrying more as Sidhu was its “only credible Sikh face in Punjab” and the party also needs Sikh votes to win its traditional seats. They say he may even emerge as the rallying point for disgruntled Akalis.

“It is the ruling alliance that needs to worry as Sidhu will slice away Akali-BJP votes. The Congress has no reason to be perturbed. He has been in Punjab politics for 15 long years. If he could harm the Congress, he would have done so by now. The announcement of his resignation hasn’t come as a surprise to us. It was all in the making,” said senior Congress leader Manpreet Badal, once a close friend of Sidhu. When Manpreet had launched the People’s Party of Punjab, there were reports that Sidhu would board his friend’s ship. But Manpreet now says, “He never had the guts to do so.”Though Amarinder says Sidhu is a “better CM face for Punjab than Delhi CM Kejriwal”, he believes Punjab is no batting pitch for a cricketer. “Playing cricket and being part of comic shows on television is good. But governing a state is a different ballgame,” Amarinder adds. Many in Congress dub Sidhu as a “maverick politician who is prone to flip-flops”. But they too believe his appeal cuts across sections be it youth, intellectuals and the educated class as no charges have ever come to stick on him. No wonder, the party will be eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court verdict on the road rage case against Sidhu that is expected during the runup to 2017 polls. CONG GETS THINK TIME

The Congress is also taking comfort in the timing of Sidhu’s exit. Senior leaders believe his resignation over an adverse verdict of the Supreme Court on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue would have made him a hero. Having come at a time the AAP was wanting a face-saver in Punjab after the manifesto gaffe, it has given it think time to devise its counter-strategy. But it will unfold only after the AAP names Sidhu. “Had the AAP played the Sidhu card after Amarinder was named as the Congress CM candidate, it would have been more lethal. The Congress will now put its dice on the table at the right time. It also remains to be seen if at all Kejriwal would name Sidhu as the CM face. What will happen to all the Sucha Singh Chhotepurs, Bhagwant Manns and Sukhpal Khairas in AAP? Will they all work under Sidhu’s command?” party sources wonder. HOME-GROWN CHALLENGE

Hailing from his hometown Patiala, Amarinder will for the first time have a formidable challenger from his home turf, who like him, has pan-Punjab appeal and has represented Amritsar in Majha as an MP. That Sidhu is younger to Amarinder and competes with him in Badalbashing only makes the challenge more daunting. It may even hit Captain closer home if disgruntled Congressmen and Akalis in Patiala see a common friend in AAP. The first reaction of Amarinder, who was keen to have the latter on board with him not very long time ago, was that Sidhu would be “just another comedian in the AAP pack”. He, however, decided to hold his horses till the latter’s foray into Arvind Kejriwal’s party was formally announced.

Sources close to him said Amarinder is not sure if Sidhu, whose family has had old ties with the Congress, had decided to hop on to the AAP bandwagon. If he does, it will still take Amarinder — who says he has seen Sidhu growing up and playing cricket in Patiala — and Sidhu time to attack each other as sworn enemies.

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