Knives out in Punjab Congress after Sidhu’s solo rally angers Bajwa

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Bajwa claimed that Sidhu was not able to “digest” the attention and admiration and respect that the people of Punjab gave him. He also blamed Sidhu for the party’s loss in the 2022 assembly elections.

On Wednesday, Sidhu first shared a post on ‘X’ by his loyal supporter and social activist Malwinder Singh Malli on his timeline, attacking Bajwa for the downfall of the Congress.

He then followed it up by posting a statement of five former MLAs who supported him. 

A few hours later, another set of Congressmen, backing Bajwa, issued a press statement demanding Sidhu’s expulsion from the party for indiscipline. “Sidhu is a bomb in the basement, waiting to implode,” they said in the statement.

The two sides continued to trade barbs Thursday as well.

Sidhu re-shared a post by another Congress leader Gautam Seth, who supported him and termed Bajwa’s remarks as “unsolicited and unfortunate”.

Sidhu persisted with his criticism with a direct post saying that the Congress agenda in Punjab was more important than individual leaders.

“Why be a hindrance to 8,000 supporters and not facilitate? Do the people of Punjab believe in your party’s agenda and consider you as an alternative?-that is all that matters, ” he added.

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How it all began

Talking to mediapersons Tuesday, Bajwa blamed Sidhu for bringing down the number of MLAs in the Punjab assembly from 78 to 18 (in the 2022 assembly elections). He said the political downfall of the Congress happened when Sidhu was the president of the party in the state.

“If you (Sidhu) have been given power and respect by the masses, learn to digest it,” said Bajwa, adding: “He should not organise his own personal rallies. Whatever he has to say, he should do from the official forum of the Congress.”

Bajwa was responding to a question about Sidhu’s rally of Congress workers in Mehraj in Bathinda Sunday. Sidhu was the only Congress leader to address the rally.

During the rally, Sidhu hit out at both the Shiromani Akali Dal rule in Punjab as well that of the Congress chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Last month, Sidhu even met the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and handed over a memorandum about the law and order situation in Punjab and the state’s financial crisis.

In response, Malli launched a full-blown attack on Bajwa. “You (Bajwa) are responsible for the party coming down from 78 MLAs to 18 MLAs, not Sidhu as the state president,” he wrote in the post that was shared by Sidhu.

“It was Bajwa (and group) that had shunned Sidhu’s model of development for Punjab and played the Dalit card (by aiding Charanjit Singh Channi to become the chief minister in the run up to the 2022 assembly elections),” added Malli.

He also said that Bajwa’s statement against Sidhu was born out of trepidation.

“When you refuse to toe the line of the party high command over the formation of the INDIA alliance, then is it not a separate forum of the Congress in the state? But if Sidhu says that he will stand by the wishes of the high command and will fight for Punjab, then it is dismissed as a separate forum,” wrote Malli.

Meanwhile, talking to media persons following the rally in Bathinda Sunday, Sidhu defended his rally and explained that he had addressed it on the invitation of Congress workers under the banner of the Congress party. He said posters of Congress high command, including Rahul Gandhi, were put up on the stage and that should encompass all.

Congress divided

In the statement issued in favour of Sidhu Wednesday, former MLAs Nazar Singh Manshahia, Rajinder Singh Samana, Maheshinder Singh, Raminder Singh Awla, Jagdev Singh Kamalu and other leaders, including Vijay Kalra, Harvinder Singh Laddi, Rajveer Singh Raja and Inderjeet Singh Dhillon, said that neither Sidhu nor they were ever invited to attend any of the official functions of the Congress.

They alleged that they were meted out a step-motherly treatment by the party.

Addressing Bajwa, they said in the statement, “The Congress is our mother party and is as dear to us as it is to you, but the fact is that the party workers are feeling ignored. And since Sidhu is holding them together, it is pinching some leaders. We hope that the party does not mistreat Navjot Sidhu and the party workers.”

The statement added that Bajwa had failed to organise even a single rally in the state in the past month taking on the current government.

“Workers of the party and several leaders who are supporting Sidhu are being ignored. And when Sidhu holds successful rallies for the party it is not tolerated by other leaders of the party,” said the Congress leaders in the statement.

On the other hand, another group of leaders, including Kulbir Singh Zira, former MLA Zira; Inderbir Singh Bolaria, former MLA Amritsar South; and Barindermeet Singh Pahra, MLA Gurdaspur, among others, said that Sidhu was “indisciplined” and that harmed the party.

“Even though we respect him as the former chief of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, his actions often work against the interests of the party as a whole.” said the press release issued by the leaders Wednesday.

“His indiscipline in dealing with political matters usually goes against the collective efforts of the Congress party. This was evident under his leadership,” said Zira in the press release.

“Navjot Singh Sidhu has had a history of being opposite to the collective stand of the Congress party,” said Navjot Singh Dahiya, former MLA Nakodar.

According to Bolaria, “It is essential to remember, Navjot Singh Sidhu was sitting right beside the senior party leadership when the then CM Sardar Charanjit Singh Channi Ji was announced as the CM face for the 2022 elections.”

“But, instead of standing with the party, he (Sidhu) chose his own glorification agenda,” Bolaria added.

Gurdaspur MLA Pahra blamed Sindhu for being focussed on “self-glorification”.

“You have never supported the party’s agenda. This is something that needs to stop. You could not help the party in a leadership position as the PCC Chief, and now, you are unable to perform as a team player,” Pahra added.

Mohit Mohindra, head of the Punjab Youth Congress, said that ahead of the assembly elections in 2022, the party manifesto was released very late. “This might be the only incident in the long history of elections in India that a manifesto was released just two days prior to the elections.”

“This is all because your (Sidhu) focus while being in a position of power and leadership, was more inclined on settling scores than actually working on the high-level position handed to you by the party,” he added.

(Edited by Richa Mishra)

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