Ego Tussle With Channi, Tainted Officers & Ministers in Top Posts: 5 BIG Reasons Behind Sidhu’s Resignation Shocker

While Navjot Singh Sidhu will remain the Punjab Congress Committee chief for now — a post he had quit in a huff on Tuesday – leaving his party colleagues, including the Gandhis, stunned, speculations have been rife about the reasons behind the sudden move. A battery of camera crew, visibly stunned MLAs and “worried” supporters had turned Sidhu’s parental house in Patiala’s Yadavindra Enclave into a political hotspot post his resignation shocker.

Also Read: Sidhu Quits as Punjab Cong Chief Amid Dispute Over Channi Cabinet, Says ‘Can’t Compromise With State’s Future’

In his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Sidhu said he “can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab”. News18 tells you what prompted the Cricketer-turned-politician to take this step just days after the resignation of Capt Amarinder Singh from the CM’s chair.

1. Inclusion of ‘Tainted’ MLA

Trouble started brewing on Sunday as a few hours before the new ministers were to take oath, some MLAs wrote to Sidhu, saying the “tainted” Rana Gurjeet Singh should not be made minister since he faced accusations of corruption in sand mining. Gurjeet Singh, in fact, was removed from the cabinet by then chief minister Amarinder Singh over the corruption allegations. Sidhu, however, failed to stop Gurjeet Singh’s elevation as minister again.

2. Upset With Channi

He is also believed to be upset with some other ministerial appointments made by Channi, like that of Aruna Chaudhary who is the CM’s relative and faces anti-incumbency in her constituency Dinanagar. Sidhu had instead been pitching for a berth to Punjab Congress Committee Scheduled Caste (SC) department head Raj Kunar Chhabewal.

He reportedly also had problem with the decision of giving the Home portfolio to deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. Sidhu wanted Channi to retain the department himself.

3. Representation of Mazhabi Sikhs

The cabinet composition seems to also have upset caste dynamics, with no adequate representation given to Mazhabi Sikhs who make up 30% of SCs. The current assembly has nine MLAs from the community. Sources say Channi was not receptive to the idea of accommodating Mazhabi Sikhs as he was pitching for his own community.

4. Appointment of AG

The Congress government in the state on Monday appointed senior advocate APS Deol as its advocate general. Sources said Sidhu wanted the appointment of senior IPS officer of the 1986 batch, Sidharth Chattopadhyaya, as the DGP and senior lawyer DS Patwalia as the AG. The decision on the DGP is still to be cleared by the UPSC but the Charanjit Singh Channi government has given additional charge of the post to Sahota. Chattopadhyaya will retire in March next year while 1988-batch Sahota retires next August.

5. No Officer of Choice

According to an Indian Express report, Sidhu was also upset over failing to get any officer of his choice on key posts, including that of the Punjab Police chief. His adviser, former IPS officer Mohd Mustafa, wanted S Chattopadhyaya to get the post, but Channi appointed another officer of his choice for the role.

Also Read: Sulking Navjot Sidhu Wants These Three Men Out. As Channi Remains ‘Flexible’, Will Congress Finally Relent?

The biggest loss to Punjab Congress was perhaps Razia Sultana who resigned as the Cabinet minister on Tuesday, just hours after Sidhu quit as the state Congress chief. In her resignation letter to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Sultana said she is resigning “in solidarity with Navjot Singh Sidhu”.

Sultana is considered close to Sidhu. Her husband Mohd Mustafa, who is a former IPS officer, is a principal strategic adviser to Sidhu. Earlier in the day, Sultana was given charge of the water supply and sanitation, social security, women and child development, printing and stationery departments.

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