Navjot Sidhu to meet Punjab CM to discuss ‘revival’ of state’s econo

By PTI

CHANDIGARH: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu said he will meet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday to discuss the revival of the state’s economy, days after he had called the CM a “younger brother” and an “honest man”.

Sidhu, who had been attacking the AAP-led government in the state over various issues including the law and order situation, said Punjab’s resurrection was possible only with a collective effort.

“Will meet CM @BhagwantMann tomorrow at 5:15 PM in Chandigarh to discuss matters regarding the revival of Punjab’s economy. Punjab’s Resurrection is only possible with an honest collective effort,” said Sidhu in a tweet on Sunday.

Sidhu on April 22 had said the party lost the Punjab elections because of the “mafia raj” that prevailed in the state and it now needed to reinvent itself, and praised Mann as a “younger brother” and an “honest man”.

Sidhu had said he will support Mann, whose Aam Aadmi Party trounced the Congress in the recent assembly polls, if he fights against the mafia.

Notably, AICC incharge of Punjab affairs Harish Chaudhary had also written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking disciplinary action against Sidhu for trying to “portray himself above the party.”

In the letter dated April 23, Chaudhary had also forwarded a detailed note of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring regarding Sidhu’s “current activities.” Warring, in his note, had highlighted Sidhu’s “parallel activities” and his recent meetings with expelled leaders, including former MLAs Surjit Singh Dhiman.

Following the party’s drubbing in the five states that went to polls earlier this year, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had asked the party chief there to resign.

The Congress appointed Warring in place of Sidhu after its drubbing in the state assembly polls. For months before the elections, Sidhu had been questioning the leadership of the then chief minister Amarinder Singh. He also directed barbs at Charanjit Singh Channi, who took over as the CM ahead of the elections.