A fresh round of bickering has begun among Punjab Congress leaders, with state Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa claiming on Monday, 3 January, that Navjot Sidhu, the state Congress chief, was upset with him.
Randhawa was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, "Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is upset with me ever since I became the Home Minister. If Sidhu wants the Home Ministry, then I will put it at his feet in a minute."
This comes amid Sidhu’s questioning of his own party's failure in arresting Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who has been booked in a drugs case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
While Sidhu was upset about the Home Ministry being assigned to Randhawa, he had also strongly opposed any talk of Randhawa becoming the Chief Minister following Amarinder Singh's resignation after last year’s infighting.
Moreover, Chief of Punjab Congress' campaign committee Sunil Jakhar on 29 December, had declared that the party will contest the upcoming state elections under a "joint leadership," dealing a blow to Sidhu’s hopes for nomination.
After the First Information Report (FIR) against Majithia, Sidhu had claimed that it was just one of the steps against the drug mafia.
He had added in another tweet, "Justice will not be served until the main culprits behind the drug mafia are given exemplary punishment, this is merely the first step. Will fight till punishment is given, which acts as a deterrent for generations."
Just weeks ahead of the Assembly polls in Punjab, the police have booked former Shiromani Akali Dal minister and brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal, Bikram Singh Majithia, under Sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
(With inputs from ANI.)
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