This Article is From Jul 06, 2021

"Will Do What Sonia Gandhi Decides": Amarinder Singh Amid Rift With Navjot Sidhu

The meeting with Sonia Gandhi raised speculation of a resolution in the Chief Minister's feud with his biggest rival and challenger, Navjot Singh Sidhu.

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India News Reported by , , Edited by
New Delhi:

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi today amid bitter infighting in the state, said he would accept "whatever decision is taken by the Congress high command".

The meeting raised speculation of a resolution in the Chief Minister's feud with his biggest rival and challenger, Navjot Singh Sidhu.

"Whatever decision is taken by the Congress high command we will go by it," Amarinder Singh told reporters.

Asked whether any announcement would be made on a key post for Mr Sidhu, he replied: "I don't know anything about Sidhu saab, jo bhi faisla hoga ,woh ham amal karenge jo congress president chahtey hain (Whatever is the decision, whatever the Congress president wants, we will follow it)."

Amarinder Singh, aka Captain, flew from Chandigarh to Delhi by a special chopper.

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His meeting with Sonia Gandhi comes just days after Navjot Sidhu met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Delhi.

Last week, Mr Singh had met with a three-member panel appointed by Sonia Gandhi to recommend a solution to the Punjab feud. He, however, left without a meeting with the Gandhis.

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Today's meeting is key to the Congress's attempts to bring the Chief Minister on board with a formula that would require Mr Sidhu to be accommodated in a top post in Punjab.

Mr Singh and Mr Sidhu have been publicly sparring for months now, endangering the Congress's reelection campaign in Punjab.

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Mr Sidhu quit as Punjab minister in 2019 after what he perceived was a downgrade in his portfolio.

Recently, with the Congress prepping its Punjab campaign, the cricketer-turned-politician stepped up his attacks on the Chief Minister. He has reportedly demanded a better share in the state government and the Punjab Congress.

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Even after his meeting with the Gandhis, Mr Sidhu has not let up on his attacks. Last week, he targeted Mr Singh over the power crisis in the state.

In his tweets this morning, Mr Sidhu yet again raised the subject. Faulty power purchase agreements (PPAs) "have cost people of Punjab thousands of crores", he stressed.

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