Sidhu harming Congress with irresponsible actions: Punjab CM Amarinder
Chandigarh: The simmering tension between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu was out in the open again on Sunday with the former accusing the cricketer-turned-politician of damaging the Congress with his "irresponsible actions" just before polls.
Though Singh stressed that he had no personal differences with the Punjab tourism and cultural affairs minister, yet he said Sidhu was perhaps "ambitious" and "wanted to be the chief minister".
"If he (Sidhu) was a real Congressmen, he should have chosen a better time to air his grievances, instead of just ahead of voting in Punjab," the chief minister said here.
"He is harming the party with such irresponsible actions. It is not his election but that of the entire Congress's," he added.
Singh's statement criticising one of his own ministers came on a day when all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab went to the polls.
The chief minister was apparently referring to Sidhu's "rebellious" remarks in Bathinda on May 17, when he appeared to corner the Congress government in the state over the issue of desecration of religious scriptures and questioned why no FIR was lodged against the Badals in connection with the 2015 sacrilege and police-firing incidents.
Sidhu, who was campaigning in favour of Congress nominee Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in Bathinda, had even said he would resign if action was not taken against those behind the 2015 desecration incidents.
Singh said it was for the party high-command to decide on any action against Sidhu, but the Congress, as a party, did not tolerate indiscipline.
He, personally, did not have any differences with Sidhu, whom he had known since the latter was a child, the chief minister added. "Perhaps he is ambitious and wants to be the chief minister," Singh said.
Such irritants notwithstanding, the chief minister exuded confidence about a Congress victory in all the 13 seats of the state, saying he was getting very positive reports from all the constituencies.
A few days ago, Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu had blamed Singh and the Congress's Punjab affairs in-charge, Asha Kumari, for denying her a poll ticket from the Amritsar parliamentary seat.
Though Singh had refuted the charge, Sidhu had backed his wife's accusation, saying she would "never lie".
"My wife has that much strength and moral authority that she will never lie. This is my answer," Sidhu had said on May 16, when he was told that the chief minister had refuted Kaur's allegations.
Earlier also, the tension between Singh and Sidhu had come out in the public.
Last year, Sidhu had said in Hyderabad, "(Congress chief) Rahul Gandhi is my captain...Rahul Gandhi is the captain of the captain (Singh) also."
Singh had earlier disapproved of Sidhu hugging the Pakistan Army chief during his visit to the neighbouring country.
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If Ambedkar was not there, Nehru would not have allowed reservation for SCs and STs: PM Modi
Motihari (Bihar) (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday alleged that the INDIA bloc stood for corruption, appeasement politics and a "perverted anti-Sanatan mindset", all of which would receive a "big blow" when the Lok Sabha poll results are announced on June 4.
Addressing an election rally in the East Champaran Lok Sabha constituency of Bihar, the PM also launched indirect attacks on leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, who he said were "born with silver spoons".
"The nation cannot move forward with the sins of the INDIA bloc, which stands for corruption, appeasement politics, represents the 'tukde-tukde' gang and a perverted mindset that heaps scorn on Sanatan Dharma," he said.
"This is the reason why the INDIA bloc was exhausted in the very first phase of the elections. In the subsequent phases, it was battered. In the remaining two phases, the trend will continue and on June 4 when votes are counted, the results will come as a big blow to the intentions of the opposition alliance," he claimed.
Modi alleged that Congress wants to change the Constitution to "snatch" reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, and hand it over to those who indulge in "vote jihad".
"If Ambedkar was not there, Nehru would not have allowed reservation for SCs and STs," he claimed.
Modi also bristled at the opposition parties' criticism of welfare schemes run by his government, claiming his opponents had "bundles of notes stashed away in Swiss banks" and could not understand the plight of the common people "the way I do, having been born in a poor family".
"They were opening accounts in Swiss banks, while the people of India were starving," he alleged.
Referring to Tejashwi Yadav, whom he did not mention by name, Modi said, "I am told that the 'waaris of jungle raaj' has been saying I will be advised bed rest after the Lok Sabha elections. The 'shehzada' of Congress says he wants to see me in tears. His party openly chants slogans like 'Modi teri kabr khudegi' (your grave will be dug)."
"These people have a counterpart in Uttar Pradesh (an allusion to Akhilesh Yadav) who says I have reached the end of my life and hence contesting from Varanasi," said Modi, adding that the remarks betrayed a lack of sensitivity on the part of those "born with silver spoons, who have never known what is a life filled with struggles".
In his speech, Modi also made a reference to the much-talked-about feast Gandhi had enjoyed at Lalu Prasad’s residence last year.
"Those who refused the invitation to the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya had no problems in sharing a meal with the corrupt," he said.
Modi also referred to East Champaran as Mahatma Gandhi's "karma bhoomi" and his own roots in Gujarat "the janmabhoomi (place of birth)".
"The Congress betrayed his ideals upon coming to power and devoted itself to promoting the interests of one family," he alleged.
"I have spent my first 10 years in power filling the potholes left by the Congress. I intend to speed up progress in the next term," said Modi as he spoke about his thrust on welfare measures like toilets for women "who had to suffer physical ailments because of the absence of this very basic of all amenities".
