Captain Amarinder Singh had strongly opposed Navjot Singh Sidhu's promotion as Punjab Congress chief.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is scheduled to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday ahead of a much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle in the state. It also comes amid strong indications that his long-running feud with Navjot Singh Sidhu, the new head of the party's state unit, hasn't ended.
The meeting, set to take place in Delhi, is deemed significant since a cabinet reshuffle is awaited in the state even though the Chief Minister had, according to a July 31 PTI report, ruled out the possibility of an immediate revamp of his ministerial team.
The more contentious point, however, could be that even weeks after he was elevated to his new post, after Captain Singh grudgingly relented, Mr Sidhu continues to aim his barbs at the state government.
While both the Chief Minister and the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President have made public statements about working together as a team, the cricketer-turned-politician's actions don't hint at any of that promised camaraderie.
On Monday, the latter once again cornered his government over inaction against Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia and others, who were allegedly involved in the 2018 drug trafficking case.
"Punishing the culprits behind the drug trade is the Congress's priority under the 18-Point Agenda. What is the action taken on Majithia? If further delayed, we will bring a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for making the reports public," Mr Sidhu tweeted today.
In a series of tweets, he, without naming the Chief Minister, questioned the government's actions to tackle the narcotics problem.
In February 2018, STF headed by ADGP Harpreet Sidhu filed “status report” in Punjab & Haryana High Court, investigating statements & evidence recorded by ED that were submitted before Hon'ble Court in case of Bikramjit Singh Majithia & others involvement in Drug trafficking. 1/6 pic.twitter.com/ZRNBoiPNCk
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) August 9, 2021
On July 31, Captain Singh had claimed that his government had already implemented several steps from the 18-point agenda given by the Congress high command. These include the matter of the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, the drugs problem in Punjab, and issues related to power purchase agreements.
An outspoken critic of Captain Singh, Mr Sidhu was made Punjab Congress chief on July 23 despite strong opposition from the Chief Minister, who had even demanded a public apology for such public censure.
While in Delhi tomorrow, the Chief Minister may also call on Union Home Minister Amit Shah in light of the recovery of a "tiffin bomb" and hand grenades from a village in Amritsar.
The recovery was made during a combing operation launched after police received inputs regarding drone activity in the area.
Last November, Captain Singh had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flagging the sightings of drones near the international border in Punjab. He highlighted the implications of such aerial vehicles in transporting weapons from across the border.
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