Navjot Sidhu had faced flak for hugging the Pakistan Army chief during his visit to Pakistan (File)
Having remained incommunicado for nearly nine months, Congress MLA and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday announced the launch of his YouTube channel, describing it as a platform to "propel" Punjab towards "revival and renaissance".
The cricketer-turned-politician's decision to launch the channel -- ''Jittega Punjab'' (Punjab will win) came days after he met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Delhi and apprised them of a roadmap for the "revival" of the Congress-ruled state "to its pristine glory."
The announcement assumes significance as the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government is completing its three-year tenure and is going to highlight its achievements on March 16.
A statement issued by the Congress leader's office said, "Mr Sidhu is today launching his own channel on Youtube to air and share his views with the people of Punjab in a simple/understandable form."
"The channel invites all like-minded people for discussions, interviews and an exchange of views. It is a platform to propel Punjab towards revival and renaissance," said the statement.
"After nine months of contemplation and self-renewal the former minister, four-term Member of Parliament and MLA Amritsar East will be vocal on the burning issues of Punjab and strive to carve out a concrete road-map for the resurrection of Punjab as a welfare state," the statement further said.
The channel is inspired by the path of universal brotherhood, tolerance, love and peace shown by Baba Nanak (Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism), it said.
Asking people to share their views and "be a part of the resurrection," Mr Sidhu said, "the whole world is my country, all mankind my brethren, to do good my religion --inspired Sidhuism."
"The icons of the channel (are) Maharaja Ranjit Singh & Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh (who) are the epitomes of our glorious past, good governance, courage, sacrifice and role-models for our future generations," the statement said adding, the channel's logo is inspired by Punjab's state bird ''Goshawk''.
In a four-minute-long video-clip shared with the media, Mr Sidhu said in the last nine months he has realised that power bestowed upon leaders by the voters of Punjab should not remain confined to just four or five people.
"The power of people must return to the people," he asserted.
Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the masses, Mr Sidhu said facts won't be twisted and only truth will prevail on his channel.
The launch of the channel comes amid reports that several Congress MLAs are "unhappy" with the state bureaucracy for allegedly neglecting them while a few legislators are demanding concrete action against transport and sand mafia in the state.
There was also speculation that the Aam Aadmi Party was trying to woo Mr Sidhu ahead of 2022 Punjab assembly elections.
AAP MP and party's state unit chief Bhagwant Mann had even said that he would be the first one to welcome Mr Sidhu into the party fold.
The Congress legislator had been away from the limelight ever since his resignation from the state Cabinet after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh changed his portfolio in June last year.
The 56-year-old Mr Sidhu, who had been at loggerheads with the CM, was blamed for his "inept handling" of the local government department for the "poor performance" of the Congress in the urban areas during the Lok Sabha polls last year.
Mr Sidhu had also faced flak for hugging the Pakistan Army chief during his visit to the neighbouring country in 2018 and Amarinder Singh had disapproved of the act.