CHANDIGARH: Amid indications of the Congress high command having made up its mind to appoint Navjot Singh Sidhu as the next PPCC chief, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday categorically told AICC general secretary Harish Rawat that he would not meet Navjot Singh Sidhu till he publicly apologised for the “derogatory” remarks on the social media and demanded that Sidhu deleted these posts.
At the same time, he said he would accept any decision taken by the Congress high command.
The CM is learnt to have handed over copies of Sidhu’s 150-odd tweets to Rawat, who arrived in Chandigarh to placate the CM with a peace formula. All this while, Sidhu remained busy meeting ministers and MLAs, a few kilometres from Captain’s Siswan farmhouse. The CM is learnt to have expressed his annoyance at the way things were being handled by the leadership without keeping him in the loop and over reports on Sidhu’s elevation in the media. Sources privy to the discussions said the CM wanted to make sure that the new PPCC chief was not allowed to undermine his role in party affairs and that he continued to have a free hand in Cabinet reshuffle. Rawat is learnt to have assured the CM of a say in the appointment of working presidents. “The CM wants the appointments should complement his efforts to retain power in the 2022 elections,” a source said.
Later in the day, CM’s media adviser tweeted on CM’s behalf: “Had a fruitful meeting with @harishrawatcmuk. Reiterated that any decision of @INCIndia President will be acceptable to all. Raised certain issues which he said he’ll take up with @INCIndia president.” Rawat on his return to Delhi tweeted on Captain having said he would accept any decision that the party high command took. He dismissed certain media reports on the PPCC crisis as ‘baseless’.
Significantly, former PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa, Speaker Rana KP Singh and minister Rana Gurmit Singh called on the CM, hours after the Rawat-Captain meeting. On Friday, Sidhu too had met Bajwa, who is said to be keen on returning to active politics. With the party high command yet to announce the new PPCC president, the CM is learnt to have already warned the leadership that Sidhu’s appointment could lead to resentment among the old guard, especially Hindu leaders. Sources said the crisis seemed far from over with the rival camps regrouping once again.