Sidhu catches CM off gaurd

After “failing to get time” from Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, chief parliamentary secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu had to intrude his sangat darshan public contact session to draw his attention to her constituency.

Later, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Amritsar East claimed that she had been trying to meet the CM for the past six months through her office in Chandigarh and had no other choice but to pay him a surprise visit. At Wadala Johal village of Jandiala assembly constituency, she had been standing in the general public’s queue for a few minutes before Badal spotted her and offered her a seat next to him. However, she left immediately after handing him a list of demands.

Later, she speaking to a Punjabi News Channel she said that Chief Minister had promised to give `10 crore to her constituency. “But, so far, nothing has been paid. If Bathinda or any other favoured constituency of the Akalis can get hundreds of crores of rupees, what is the problem with my constituency? My files aren’t cleared for months but nobody is bothered. I am not a beggar but an elected representative of the people,” said the CPS. Once, her husband, Navjot Singh Sidhu, then local MP of the BJP, had a similar grouse against the Badals. “If the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is bothered only about own constituencies, let it spare the BJP just `200 crore and see how we develop Amritsar,” said Dr Sidhu, adding: “Badal Saab goes to villages and gives them crores of rupees; can’t he see my constituency?” She said even deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal was yet to fulfil his election promise of `100 crore to Amritsar East.

Asked why she felt her constituency was being neglected, she said: “I guess they don’t want me to remain in politics. My grants are not released to keep my constituency underdeveloped. If my constituents are unhappy, they have a valid reason.” Claiming that the CM had now asked for 15 days to resolve the issues, she said: “If he fails, I could go on a hunger strike.” A couple of years ago in a similar situation, her husband had also threatened to go on a hunger strike against the Badals.

Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh asked deputy Punab’s chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal not to condemn the people protesting against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) delegation in Canada and the US as anti-national.“This is unbecoming of the president of the Akali Dal, a party that claims to represent and watch Sikh interests, to damn an entire community as anti-national just because they are critical of you and your party,” he told Sukhbir in a statement.