Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday resigned from the publish of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), 10 days after former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had tendered his resignation. Sidhu took to Twitter to make the announcement.
In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi, Sidhu mentioned, “The collapse of a man’s character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab. Therefore, I hereby resign as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Will continue to serve the Congress.”
pic.twitter.com/L5wdRql5t3— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) September 28, 2021
The determination to stop as PCC chief got here days after former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh resigned from the publish of CM. The Gandhi siblings, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, had tried to iron out the variations between Navjot Singh Sidhu and Captain Amarinder Singh, however their efforts proved to be catastrophically counterproductive, with each the leaders deciding to relinquish their respective posts.
The Gandhi siblings maybe thought that their intervention would finish the get together’s internecine battle and strengthen it for the meeting election polls slated to occur subsequent 12 months. But removed from forging unity, the mediation by the Gandhis had the other impact—it exacerbated the tussle between the 2 Congress leaders—leaving the get together extra susceptible than it already was.
Captain Amarinder Singh resigns after enduring humiliation by the hands of the Congress management
Months forward of the meeting state elections, the Congress authorities in Punjab noticed themselves engulfed in an unnavigable political disaster. The two towering leaders of Punjab Congress had been at loggerheads with one another. On one hand, it was Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and on the opposite, it was Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh.
The disaster was triggered in kinds by the Congress get together’s determination to convey Sidhu out of the woodwork and award him with the plum place of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief. It was reported that Priyanka Gandhi, who had customary herself because the get together’s ‘crisis manager’ after Ahmed Patel’s demise, had satisfied the get together excessive command for an expanded function for Navjot Singh Sidhu in Punjab Congress.
Captain Amarinder Singh and his camp had already expressed their reservations over Sidhu’s elevation within the get together. The relationship between the 2 leaders had sharply deteriorated after Navjot Singh Sidhu’s brazen disregard of Captain’s suggestion in opposition to visiting Pakistan. Sidhu defied Captain’s recommendation and visited Pakistan, thereby inflicting a rift of their relationship that solely widened as time handed by.
Since Singh wielded huge affect on the get together in Punjab, Sidhu was handled as a pariah and consigned to the fringes of lively politics. Both leaders made no bones about their dislike for one another and neither did the 2 see eye to eye on any of the problems.
Yet, the get together took the gamble of appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu because the PCC chief in July 2021. The get together was centered on profitable the upcoming meeting elections in Punjab and of their grand scheme of issues, Sidhu had a key function to play, whatever the reservations raised by Captain Amarinder Singh.
With Sonia Gandhi not conserving good well being, the Gandhi siblings reportedly took the mantle of settling the widening friction between the 2 leaders in Punjab. Instead of resolving the battle, their actions solely added proverbial gasoline to the hearth. However, a Congress insider quoted by the Times of India mentioned Sidhu was only a pawn within the battle of egos fought between Amarinder on one facet and Rahul and Priyanka on the opposite.
But that call of elevating Sidhu of their bid to clip the wings of Captain turned out to be disastrous. The discord inside the Congress get together got here to a head when Captain Amarinder Singh determined to finish his humiliation by resigning from the publish of Punjab Chief Minister on 18 September 2021. Talking to reporters after submitting his resignation, Amarinder Singh mentioned he resigned after he was humiliated by the get together management. Referring to the frequent conferences of Congress MLAs, Singh mentioned they recommended that the get together had doubts about his management expertise.
Gandhis take management of Punjab Congress to maintain Sidhu ‘under check’
Gandhis thought altering chief minister within the state would finish the turmoil earlier than the meeting elections early subsequent 12 months. But that call was beset with a contemporary set of issues. With the fallout with Captain Amarinder Singh contemporary in thoughts, Gandhis had been reluctant to present free rein to new CM Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu, lest different leaders within the state mimic Singh and begin submitting their resignations. Within 4 days after being elected as the brand new Punjab Chief minister, Channi was summoned to Delhi two instances to hash out a “consensus” cabinet, demonstrating get together management’s resolve to maintain the authority of the state authorities in its personal palms and never permit native management to take management, a report revealed in News 18 mentioned.
From administrative shuffle to the appointment of bureaucrats to the choice of ministers within the new Punjab Cabinet, Gandhis had been reportedly having a say in all choices in regards to the state. The determination to take absolute management in Punjab state stemmed from the unhealthy optics the get together attracted within the wake of the unceremonious elimination of Captain Amarinder Singh from the publish of the chief minister.
As per sources, the Gandhis had been even eager on conserving the Pradesh Congress Committee Navjot Singh Sidhu ‘under check’. The Gandhis additionally approached former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jhakhar to seek the advice of him on the cabinet formation, indicating that they’d additionally embrace those that are usually not firmly embedded within the Sidhu camp.
Gandhis had been inclined in direction of appointing somebody “neutral” as an election marketing campaign get together in cost to be sure that competing factions inside the get together don’t take pleasure in recriminations over the appointment of the mentioned individual. Jhakhar was among the many frontrunner within the competition. The Gandhis reportedly wished to present an impression that voices inside the get together aside from these belonging to the Sidhu camp will even be heard.
However, the heavy-handedness of the Gandhis didn’t sit effectively with Navjot Singh Sidhu, who selected to resign as an alternative of constant as a figurehead chief. As per sources, Sidhu was upset with the cabinet modifications made by the brand new CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who was in all chance following the directions he had acquired from 10 Janpath. It can be speculated that key posts granted to officers linked to the “sacrilege” case and the get together’s disregard for Sidhu’s suggestions for the current cabinet appointments additionally led him to resign from the publish of PCC chief.
The Gandhis presumably thought their mediation in Punjab wouldn’t solely finish the enduring dispute between the 2 leaders but additionally set up their credentials as leaders worthy of taking the get together. A peaceable transition of CM would have strengthened the notion that Gandhis had been able to shepherding Congress in the appropriate path. But as an alternative of steering the storm-tossed ship of Punjab Congress out of hazard, their intervention ended up taking it proper on the eye of the maelstrom, with neither Captain nor Sidhu accessible to helm the ship again to security. It wouldn’t be shocking if the Congress get together in Punjab now finds itself circling the drain and finally collapsing underneath the burden of the Gandhis.