Navjot Singh Sidhu says MLA can make cops 'wet their pants', police officer sends defamation notice
Chandigarh, Dec 27: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has courted controversy while praising two party members, allegedly saying that they are capable of making policemen wet their pants.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema slammed him over the purported remark and a Chandigarh police officer sent him a defamation notice.
"I have sent a defamation notice to him for humiliating the police," Chandigarh Deputy Superintendent of Police Dilsher Singh Chandel said.
A sub-inspector also issued a video message condemning the remark.
Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu has backed the policemen and praised them for their role during militancy and COVID-19 times.
The controversy erupted after Sidhu, at a recent rally in Sultanpur Lodhi while pointing towards sitting MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, said he can "make a 'thanedar' (policeman) wet his pants".
He repeated the remark at a rally in Batala on Sunday while praising local leader Ashwani Sekhri who was standing by his side.
When reporters asked him about his remark, Sidhu indicated that it should not be taken literally.
He said it's a way of saying that these Congress leaders "wield authority".
A video clip of Sidhu making the remark went viral on social media inviting sharp reaction from some police officials and political leaders.
Punjab Lok Congress president and former chief minister Amarinder Singh said it was sad that the men in uniform were being disrespected.
"Sad to see our men in uniform being disrespected. 1700 @PunjabPoliceInd personnel sacrificed their lives to bring the state out of the dark days and now they are being mocked by @INCPunjab leaders & above all their President. Shameful! A leader must give respect to earn respect," Amarinder Singh said in a tweet.
SAD's Daljit Singh Cheema questioned the "silence" of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa over Sidhu's remark.
He asked both of them to tell Sidhu that he should refrain from making such a remark and ask him to withdraw his statement and seek apology from the police.
Chandigarh DSP Chandel dubbed Sidhu's remark as "shameful".
"It is very shameful that such a senior leader uses these words for his own force and humiliates them," Chandel said.
"This is the same force which protects him (Sidhu) and his family," he said in a video message.
He even dared Sidhu to return his force deployed for his protection.
"Without (security) force, even a rickshaw puller will not listen to him," he said.
"I strongly condemn this remark and he (Sidhu) should not use such words for his force. The force has its own dignity and respect and it is our responsibility to maintain this dignity," he said.
In a video message, Sub-Inspector Balbir Singh, posted in Jalandhar (Rural), said, "Such language was used by a senior leader against us, I strongly condemn it."
He also requested the Punjab DGP not to allow the image of police to be affected.
"We live with our families in the society and our children question us why such language is being used against us," Balbir Singh said.
He said this remark was not against any 'thanedar' but against the entire police force.
"I want to tell Sidhu Sahib that we are not cowards. We are brave and the whole country knows about the tales of our bravery," he said as he recalled the role of police against militancy.
Without caring for their own lives, the personnel of the Punjab police provided food to the needy at their homes during the COVID-19 outbreak, he added.
Commenting on the videos of the Chandigarh DSP and the sub-inspector, Ludhiana MP Bittu lauded the Punjab police for its role in eliminating terrorism from the state.
Bittu, whose grandfather and the then chief minister Beant Singh died in a bomb blast in 1995, said, "Some videos of a DSP and sub-inspector have gone viral. First of all whatever has been said about the police, I seek apology," he said.
"I know it is Punjab police personnel, from senior IPS officer to the constable level, which did not care for their own lives and curbed terrorism with iron hand," Bittu wrote on his Facebook page.
Bittu said during the COVID-19 outbreak, the police force personnel took food to the homes of people.
Referring to the Ludhiana court bomb blast, he said it was the Punjab police which reached the spot first.
"How will they protect people if we use wrong words against them. It was very important that we stand by them," he said.
"We are proud of you and we salute you," he said.
Recently, Sidhu while commenting before his party workers to make 'cops wet their pants'. Subsequently, DSP Chandel asked Sidhu to 'mind his language'. DSP Chandel asserted that 'without the police, even a rickshaw puller will not follow the politicians' instructions'. pic.twitter.com/k01ZpGFrYR
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Melinda French Gates resigns as Gates Foundation co-chair, 3 years after her divorce from Bill Gates
New York, May 13: Melinda French Gates will step down as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit she and her ex-husband Bill Gates founded and built into one of the world's largest philanthropic organisations over the past 20 years.
“This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates posted on the X platform on Monday. “I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”
She praised the foundation's CEO, Mark Suzman, and the foundation's board of trustees, which was significantly expanded after the couple announced their divorce in May 2021.
“The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy,” French Gates wrote in her statement. She organises some of her investments and philanthropic gifts through her organisation, Pivotal Ventures, which is not a nonprofit.
Bill Gates thanked French Gates for her “critical” contributions to the foundations in a statement, saying, “I am sorry to see her leave, but I am sure she will have a huge impact in her future philanthropic work.”
French Gates will receive $12.5 billion as part of her agreement with Gates, which she said would commit to future work focused on women and families.
The Gates Foundation did not immediately return a request for comment about whether those assets would come from the foundation itself. In an emailed statement, the foundation said that Suzman announced the decision to employees on Monday.
“After a difficult few years watching women's rights rolled back in the US and around the world, she wants to use this next chapter to focus specifically on altering that trajectory,” Suzman said of French Gates.
Suzman said he knew many had joined the foundation in part because of their admiration for her advocacy, especially around gender equity.
“I know how beloved Melinda is here,” Suzman wrote.
The Gates Foundation holds $75.2 billion in its endowment as of December 2023, and announced in January, it planned to spend $8.6 billion through the course of its work in 2024.
The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and for news coverage of women in the workforce from Pivotal Ventures.
