Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 4: Sounding trouble for the party on the eve of the state Assembly elections scheduled for February 20, the Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday threw a challenge to the high command to select an “honest and popular face” as the chief ministerial candidate for the party.
Despite making repeated pledges during the recent past that the party’s decision would be acceptable to him and his principal rival, the present chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Sidhu on Friday minced no words to indicate that the party may forget his co-operation if “someone else” was named the party’s chief ministerial candidate.
With clear indications emerging that Channi has emerged the most favourite in the internal tele-survey of the party workers and is likely to be declared the chief ministerial candidate, Sidhu launched a direct attack on Channi stating that the party “must choose someone honest and with clean track record.” His statement coming on a day when Channi’s nephew was arrested and sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till February 8 on charges of illegal mining, was considered to be significant in sounding a warning to the party high command. Navjot Sidhu also stressed that any Chief Minister choice should have the backing of at least 60 MLAs.
Sidhu also triggered a row with a frontal attack on the party high command stating that “those at the top want a ‘weak Chief Minister’ who will toe their line.” Sidhu, who returned from Vaishno Devi shrine on Thursday evening, was addressing a public function in Amritsar. His remarks were widely perceived to be directed at the Congress high command, even though Sidhu’s media advisers denied it and claimed that by “top” he meant the central government and not the Congress high command. They claimed that Sidhu’s hints were towards the former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh who despite being in the Congress was acting like a “puppet in the hands of the BJP government at the centre.”
“If you choose someone devoid of moral authority, devoid of ethics or someone who is dishonest and part of some corruption and mafia, then people will vote for change and bury you like a mooli,” Sidhu said.
“We need an honest candidate. Your destiny depends on what you choose. It is choice, not chance that determines your destiny. A ‘mafia-type person’ cannot implement your programmes. A person who himself is mafia protector-in-chief, how can he crack down on the mafia?” Sidhu said. His hint apparently was towards Channi after news emerged on Friday morning that his nephew Bhupendra Singh “Honey” had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an illegal sand-mining case. Sidhu is competing with Channi in the race to be declared the Congress’s presumptive Chief Minister for Punjab.
“The top wants a weak CM. They want a CM who will sing their tunes,” Sidhu said as his supporters raised slogans, “Hamara CM kaisa ho, Navjot Sidhu jaisa ho.” “I want to say one thing, if you want a new Punjab, it is in the hands of the CM. You have to choose the CM this time. If you choose an honest man, then the honesty will percolate down. Two chief ministers ruined the state in the last 25 years. This time you have to choose the CM. If you make a thief sit on the top, then you know what will happen,” he said.
The Congress leader told his supporters that if they want Punjab to be restored to its pristine glory, they should choose an honest Chief Minister.
Beating his own drum, Sidhu said any Chief Minister choice would need to have moral authority and a 17-year track record. “I can’t call myself a CM candidate. But how many people do you see that are celebrities and have won six elections?” he said. “Only people can choose the Chief Minister. The voice of the people is the voice of God. I can say that I am not responsible for what others do but Navjot Singh Sidhu is no small fry.”
He clearly indicated that he was in no mood to co-operate if he was not named the chief ministerial candidate. On the question whether he would accept whatever his party decided, Sidhu said: “There is no question of my accepting or not. It is whether people will accept it. Whoever your leader is will need to have the support of 60 MLAs. Everyone can’t become Chief Minister. How can you become CM without MLAs?”
The comment comes a day after another Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar, who preceded Sidhu as the state Congress chief, had claimed that a majority of MLAs had backed him for the top post after the Congress sacked Amarinder Singh in September, but the party high command decided in favour of Channi. According to Jakhar, he was backed by 42 MLAs for the top post while Sidhu had the support of only six, but better than Channi who was supported by only two MLAs.
Meanwhile, amidst the turmoil in Punjab, the Congress candidates for the Goa Assembly elections took a pledge of loyalty on Friday in the presence of the party leader Rahul Gandhi. Congress candidates vowed not to defect after the election, something that has hurt the party in the past. In 2017, the Congress won 17 of 40 seats in Goa but the BJP only with 13 seats took power with help from smaller parties and independents. Two years later, 15 Congress MLAs switched to the BJP, led by the Congress’s leader of opposition, Babu Kavlekar, who was made Deputy Chief Minister by the BJP.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had earlier made candidates sign anti-defection affidavits. Rahul Gandhi also interacted with representatives of the Tourism Sector, Anganwadi staff and others. According to party leaders, the Congress MP took out a door-to-door campaign at Sada, Mormugao before his meeting with candidates.