After lying less and less after the vote defeat, former Provincial Congress Committee (PCC) chief and senior Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu seems to have “surfaced” as the party has started negotiations for a key appointment in the Punjab unit.
To put pressure on the Congress party high command, Sidhu, along with some former party MLAs, reached Behbal Kalan village on Tuesday to join the protest of the families of those killed in the 2015 police firing.
As head of the PPCC, Sidhu has consistently targeted his government. He is now firing on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for delaying justice to the family.
On December 16, 2021, Sukhraj Singh, son of Krishna Bhagwan Singh, launched an indefinite strike for the government’s failure to deliver justice, saying he would expose the state’s political parties. For the past six years, the parties have been using Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura police shootings and religion cases as political tools to exploit people’s religious sentiments and seize power, he alleged.
Sidhu visited the spot and reiterated his demand for speedy trial of the cases.
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To remain politically relevant, Sidhu held a meeting with former party MLAs in Ludhiana earlier in the day to formulate a strategy against the AAP government. This was the third meeting with party leaders before moving on to Behbal Kalan.
Speaking to the defendant’s family, Sidhu said he was raising the issue in his own government and would continue to do so against the present government.
Sidhu’s actions come at a time when the report suggests that senior Congress leaders appointed by party president Sonia Gandhi have recommended a panel of leaders for the post of PCC president to identify the cause of Punjab’s electoral defeat.
Sources said the names being discussed include MPs Ravneet Bittu and Santokh Chowdhury and Gidderbahar MLA Amarinder Singh Raja. According to party sources, Sidhu was either pushing for re-election or for a candidate of his choice.
The appointment of the Punjab Chief and Leader of the Opposition had already caused controversy in the local unit, with various lobbies pushing for their candidates.
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