Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and his former cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu seem to have buried the hatchet after nearly a year and a half of cold-shouldering one another following a very public spat.
The two Congress leaders met for about an hour for a lunch meeting at the Chief Minister’s farmhouse near Chandigarh.
The meeting comes more than a month after the new Congress incharge for Punjab affairs, Harish Rawat, managed to draw Sidhu out of his sulk and got him to participate in the party’s protest against the new farm laws.
The three-day protest, led by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, had seen Sidhu and Amarinder share stage for the first time since May last year.
Following Wednesday’s interaction, the CM’s media advisor Raveen Thukral described it as “a warm & cordial luncheon meeting”.
It was a warm & cordial luncheon meeting that saw CM @capt_amarinder and Navjot Singh Sidhu discuss a host of important political matters of Punjab and national interest. The two leaders spent a pleasant over an hour sharing thoughts on vital issues. @sherryontopp @INCIndia pic.twitter.com/Xul7mUsVSx
— Raveen Thukral (@RT_MediaAdvPbCM) November 25, 2020
Highly-placed Congress sources privy to the meeting said the farmer’s agitation and the ‘Dilli Chalo’ programme — the ongoing protest rally by Punjab and Haryana farmers towards the national capital — were the main topics of discussion.
Also Read: After a year of silence, Navjot Singh Sidhu back in limelight with attack on farm Acts
Stage set for Sidhu’s return to cabinet?
The meeting is being seen in Congress circles as a precursor to Sidhu’s reinduction in the cabinet.
The big question, however, is the portfolio Sidhu will be given as his charge of the local bodies department was central to his row with Amarinder.
Sidhu had handed over his resignation as state minister for urban bodies to then Congress president Rahul Gandhi on 10 June last year, making it public a month later. The decision was reportedly driven by Sidhu’s resentment at having been stripped of the local bodies portfolio and handed the power department earlier that month.
The portfolio was taken away from Sidhu after Amarinder held him responsible for what was described as the Congress’ poor showing in the state’s urban areas in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“Given the fact that he is extremely touchy about the portfolio he is heading, he will not agree for anything less than the local bodies department which he had earlier,” said a Congress leader who didn’t wish to be named.
“The local bodies department was handed over to Brahm Mohindra. But recently, there have been concerns about his health… There is a good chance that he (Sidhu) will get the local bodies department back,” added the Congress leader.
Amarinder and Sidhu have always shared an uncomfortable relationship. The differences worsened when Sidhu was invited by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a colleague from their cricketing days, for his oath-taking ceremony in August 2018.
The Chief Minister was against Sidhu going to Pakistan and asked him to reconsider his decision. Sidhu, however, not only went to Pakistan but also hugged the country’s army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa when the latter talked about Islamabad’s intention of opening the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for Sikh pilgrims.
In 2019, Sidhu had blamed Amarinder after his wife was denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Chandigarh — a charge denied by the Chief Minister.
The row with Amarinder had led Sidhu to disappear from the public scene, even missing assembly sessions.
Also Read: By disapproving of his Pakistan visit, Amarinder has thrown Sidhu to the wolves