New Delhi: Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said that he received a request from Pakistan Prime Minister to take Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu in his cabinet.
Amarinder Singh made this disclosure while addressing a joint press conference with BJP chief JP Nadda and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa’s Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) here.
Singh called Sidhu a totally incompetent, incapable and useless man as a minister. “I removed Sidhu from my cabinet because that man is totally incompetent, incapable and totally useless. Sidhu was looking after local self-government. For 70 days he did not complete a file. I called him a few times and offered to give him more power if he wanted, which Sidhu denied,” Singh said.
“After two or three weeks, I got a message from somebody whom we both (Sidhu and Singh) knew, saying that he (Pakistan Prime Minister) requested me to include Sidhu in my government and remove if it doesn’t work,” Singh said.
Talking about the message he received, Singh said, “Message was that the Pakistan Prime minister has sent a request that if you can take Sidhu in your cabinet he will be grateful. He (Sidhu) is an old friend of mine (Pakistan Prime Minister) and if he doesn’t work then you can remove him.”
Singh ridiculed Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s tall claims of fighting the sand mafia when he had himself led the September rebellion of MLAs who were involved in illegal mining, thus clearly exposing his own interest in sheltering them.
Considering that many of the Congress MLAs whom Sidhu had led in rebellion against him (Capt Amarinder) had direct or indirect interest or share in the state’s sand mafia, the PPCC president’s credentials in the matter were patently dubious, said the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief.
This, coupled with the fact that the PPCC president enjoyed hobnobbing with anti-nationals elements, including his close friends in the Pakistan leadership which had even lobbied for his induction to the state cabinet, had exposed Sidhu’s self-interest and his completely apathy to Punjab’s interests, said the PLC chief in a statement.
Rejecting Sidhu’s allegation that he had failed to take action against the sand mafia during his tenure as chief minister, the PLC leader said not only had he taken all possible administrative steps to check the illegal mining, he had specifically asked the Congress president for directives on acting against the Punjab Congress leaders and members involved in the racket.
“Why he was not given the necessary direction to take such action, which had political connotation and significance, was something that Sidhu should ask the Congress leadership if he really was serious about the issue,” asked Capt Amarinder.
The PLC chief further said the Punjab Congress MLAs, about whose ties with the sand mafia he had reported to the Congress president, were in direct touch with the party leadership in the run-up to his removal from chief ministership.
What had shocked him was that instead of taking action against these MLAs, who had the support of Sidhu, the Congress high command had chosen to sack him, said the former chief minister.
Amarinder Singh said Sidhu’s persistent and unsubstantiated attacks against him even after his departure from the Congress showed how insecure the PPCC president was.
In his desperation to undermine his (the former CM’s) political clout and importance in Punjab, Sidhu had even forgotten his own party unit, which was in a state of total disarray with blatant and open infighting, he said, adding that together, Sidhu and Charanjit Singh Channi were leaving no stone unturned to ensure the wipe-out of the Congress in Punjab.