Congress leader Navjot Sidhu released from Patiala jail, slams Centre
Patiala, Apr 1: Soon after walking out of the Patiala Central Jail on Saturday, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed the Centre, alleging that democracy is in chains and institutions have turned slaves in the country.
He also claimed that a conspiracy is being hatched to impose the President's Rule in Punjab.
Sidhu described Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as "akhbari mukhmantri" and criticised his government over law and order and debt issues.
Sidhu, who spent about 10 months in jail in connection with a 1988 road rage death case, walked out free on Saturday. The former Punjab Congress president was sent to prison in May 2022 after being sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court over the death of Gurnam Singh, 65.
His lawyer previously said Sidhu was being released earlier because of his good conduct in prison.
"Whenever dictatorship came in the country, a revolution came and today, I say the revolution's name is Rahul Gandhi," Sidhu told reporters who had been waiting outside the jail since morning.
"Debate and dissent are essences of this democracy, but attempts are being made to suppress opposition voice," he added.
He said the Congress is fighting against oppression.
"Today democracy is in chains, there is nothing like democracy today," he alleged.
He claimed that a conspiracy was being hatched to impose President's rule in Punjab.
"Punjab is the shield of this country, attempts are being made to break this shield. A conspiracy is going on to impose President's Rule in Punjab," he claimed.
In an apparent reference to Sikhs, who are a minority community in the country, Sidhu said, "There is a minority rule in Punjab. Wherever the minority is in majority the Centre hatches conspiracy (against it)."
He alleged first a law and order problem is created. "After that, there is an attempt to control it and then they say, we have brought peace," he said.
"If you weaken Punjab, then you will become weak yourself. No government can become strong by weakening Punjab," he said.
Sidhu was wearing a sky-blue jacket when he came out of jail.
There were expectations that he would be released by afternoon but he came out of jail at 5:53 pm.
The 59-year-old's supporters had assembled since morning outside the prison to accord him a grand welcome upon his release and they could be heard chanting 'Navjot Sidhu zindabad'.
Several Congress leaders including Amritsar MP Gurjit Aujla, former Punjab Congress chiefs Shamsher Singh Dullo, Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Lal Singh, former MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, other leaders Ashwani Sekhri, Sukhwinder Singh Danny and worker accorded a warm welcome to Sidhu.
#NavjotSinghSidhu ने जेल से रिहा होने के बाद क्या कहा सुनिए -#RoadRageCase #Congress #Punjab #NavjotSidhu #Patialajail #Sidhu #Punjab @AnkitaOmDubey pic.twitter.com/NdlHgSL2zd
— News18 India (@News18India) April 1, 2023
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Trump says he called off dispatching envoys to Iran talks
Dubai (PTI): US President Donald Trump said he told his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iran, stating on Fox News that "they can call us any time they want”.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports. Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of negotiations, according to the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Araghchi is expected back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday.
Trump said Thursday that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries this month. The initial 10-day ceasefire had been due to expire Monday.
The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
The move announced Friday is part of the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities doing business with Iran in an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports, which are a key source of its revenue.
Airlines worldwide have begun cancelling flights as the war in the Middle East strains jet fuel supplies and pushes up prices. Experts have offered information to travelers about what to do if a flight is cancelled.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade”, to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.
The report said he was expected to be back in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and “instructions on the topics related to the end of the war.”
