Sidhu speaks to say nothing

Ravi Shanker Kapoor |

Navjot Singh Sidhu broke his silence on Monday but didn’t say anything about his future course of action, especially if he was joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Sidhu’s sudden resignation last week had raised heat in the political arena with speculation that he may leave the Bharatiya Janata Party for the AAP, which has emerged as a force to reckon with in Punjab.

Talking to the media in New Delhi, he said that he resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha because he was to “not even look at” Punjab, where Assembly polls are due next year. “I was asked to stay away from Punjab. How can I quit my roots? The first time can be a mistake. But this is the fourth time it is happening… it was hard to take in.”

His remarks were full of bombast and sanctimony, embellished with couplets. “When the going gets tough, it is Sidhu Sidhu… but now they say don’t look at Punjab… Have I done anything wrong? At least tell me my crime? Should I stay away to serve the personal interests of some people?”

He also tried to appear as the champion of Punjab: “No party in the world is bigger than Punjab. I am willing to accept the consequences.”

Sidhu claimed that he fought and won the Amritsar parliamentary seat in 2004 at 14 days’ notice, following a phone call from the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: “There was a time when I was their only winner in north India. Then the Modi wave came… it sank not just the opposition but Sidhu as well.”

Sidhu was nominated to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, primarily to placate him, for he was asked to vacate the Amritsar seat for Arun Jaitley in the 2014 general election.

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