Navjot Sidhu's "Gratitude" Tweet Day After Release From Jail

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu today posted a video message on Twitter thanking all his supporters, a day after he was released from jail after a 10-month prison term.

"Gratitude ..... take a bow to all those who waited since 10 in the morning till 6 in the evening , against all odds," he captioned the video showing his supporters waiting to greet him outside the prison gates yesterday. The video showed them showering petals as the former Punjab Congress chief came out of the Patiala jail. 

Mr Sidhu went to jail last year in a 1988 case in which a man he had beaten up during a road rage incident had died. Mr Sidhu and co-accused Rupinder Singh Sandhu were acquitted by a lower court before the high court found them guilty and sentenced them to three years in jail. The two challenged the order in Supreme Court.

In 2018, the Supreme Court held him guilty for voluntarily causing hurt but acquitted him of the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Following a review petition by the family of the victim, Gurnam Singh, the Congress leader was sentenced to one year in jail.

After being released from jail, Mr Sidhu launched an attack at the BJP-led central government, saying "democracy is in chains".

"Punjab is the shield of this country. When dictatorship came in this country, a revolution also came, led by Rahul Gandhi," Mr Sidhu said.

He alleged that the centre wants to impose President's rule in the state, now ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"I want to ask my little brother (Chief Minister) Bhagwant Mann. Why did you fool the people of Punjab? You made tall promises, cracked jokes. But you are just Chief Minister on paper today," said Mr Sidhu.

The comments come against the backdrop of the Punjab Police's ongoing pursuit of separatist preacher Amritpal Singh. As the chase enters its second week, the state government has been facing criticism over its inability to arrest the Waris Punjab De leader.