There seems to be no signs of the crisis in Punjab Congress abating. After yesterday's media reports about Chief Minister Amarinder Singh reluctance to meet the now Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu unless he apologises, several MLAs in the state have come out in support of him. In a show of strength, 62 MLAs arrived at Sidhu's residence in Amritsar on Wednesday (July 21). As per his office, Sidhu had called the party MLAs for breakfast.
Amarinder Singh's media advisor in a tweet yesterday had said, "The Chief Minister will not meet Sidhu till he publicly apologises for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him."
The MLAs at Sidhu's residence said that the party is united and that there is no need for an apology. "Why should Sidhu apologise (to CM)? It's not a public issue. CM has not solved many issues. In that case, he should also apologise to the public," Congress MLA Pargat Singh said.
MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur said, "I have faith that 2022 Assembly polls will be won because of Sidhu. CM's advisers are misleading him. Due to this, Punjab is going backward." He added, "The day Sidhu was appointed as the Punjab party President, about 5 per cent of votes for Congress increased. The youth who were leaving Congress and joining the AAP party came back because of this. I am sure that at least 20 per cent of votes for Congress will increase because of Sidhu."
Jalalpur also said that the party and the CM have to work together to be successful. Referring to Punjab CM's tweet he said that Sidhu should not apologise because it is a CM's duty to address the concerns of people of his state, even if it is against him. "Sidhu is not just Sidhu anymore; he is the Punjab Congress president. He has nothing to apologise for. Although, yes, Sidhu should respect him since he is like a father to us all," he added.
(With ANI inputs)
