Navjot Singh Sidhu quit BJP, negotiated with Aam Aadmi Party, but chose to join Congress. (AFP)
Highlights
- CM Amarinder Singh has sided with Navjot Sidhu in the controversy
- Mr Sidhu has said he needs to do television shows to support his family
- Mr Sidhu quit BJP, negotiated with AAP, but eventually joined Congress
Punjab's culture minister Navjot Sidhu can take part in television shows and there is "no conflict of interest" in it, feels the state's Advocate General Atul Nanda, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's office said today. The Chief Minister had sought the opinion of Advocate General on whether Mr Sidhu has to surrender his TV career as a minister. A statement from his office this evening read, "As per the advocate general's opinion, Sidhu 'faces no legal bar in continuing with his work on the show' ".
Mr Sidhu's appearance on television shows - currently the blockbuster one hosted by comic Kapil Sharma -- has been a sore point with the opposition. Amarinder Singh has sided with Mr Sidhu, who has made it clear that wants to juggle his role as a minister and television shows.
Following a four-page response from the Advocate General today, the chief minister said in the circumstances, "there was no hindrance now to Sidhu's continuation on TV shows, nor any need to change his Culture portfolio", the statement read.
Earlier in the evening, the state Congress had tweeted:
Mr Sidhu has said he needs to do television shows to support his domestic expenditure and if his voters did not have a problem with it, no one else should.
In a dig at the Akali Dal, he said, "I cannot be a transporter like the former deputy CM of Punjab Sukhbir Badal. I cannot be corrupt to mint money... My voters have no problem with my TV shows...what I do from 7 pm to 6 am should not be somebody's business".
Mr Sidhu, who was seen as aspiring to the post of the Captain's deputy, had to settle for the portfolios of Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museums. The former cricketer had quit the BJP last year, and had negotiated with the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress. Eventually he joined the Congress, which made it clear that he would get no guarantee of being made second-in-command should the party win Punjab.