Believing that he commands respect in the opposition too, Congress' 'defiant' leader and former Cabinet minister Navjot Sidhu on Tuesday said Punjab's opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has always recognised his "vision and work" for Punjab, raising speculation that he may join Arvind Kejriwal's party.
"Our opposition AAP has always recognised my vision and work for Punjab. Be it before 2017 -- 'Beadbi' (sacrilege), drugs, farmers' issues, corruption and power crisis faced by people of Punjab raised by me or today as I present 'Punjab Model' it is clear they know who is really fighting for Punjab," Sidhu said in a tweet.
Tagging an old video clip of AAP leader Sanjay Singh praising him for 'taking the bold step' of quitting the BJP in 2017 and for raising his voice against the Akali Dal and the Badal family that leads it, Sidhu in another tweet said: "If the opposition dares to question me, yet they can't escape my pro-people agenda...This means they have resigned to their fate."
Sidhu's tweets come amid his feud with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. However, Sidhu had earlier clarified that he has no plans to join AAP.
Earlier toeing AAP's national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's 'mantra' to woo people in Punjab by announcing pre-poll sops of free and subsidised electricity to all, Sidhu had favoured 24-hour supply with no power cuts in the state and free power up to 300 units.
Speculation in political circles is rife that Sidhu may join the AAP ahead of the 2022 Assembly election.
Ahead of the 2017 Punjab Assembly elections, Sidhu had resigned from the Rajya Sabha and said, "At the behest of the Prime Minister, I had accepted RS nomination for the welfare of Punjab. With the closure of every window leading to Punjab, the purpose stands defeated, now a mere burden. I prefer not to carry it."
On Sunil Jakhar's own defeat from Gurdaspur, which he cited as his reason for quitting, the Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief was not to blame for the loss.
Police in Pune registered a complaint against Dhananjay Kudtarkar, a resident of the Maharashtra city, after a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena officer-bearer flagged the post.
Member of Parliament and outgoing Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to protest the demolition of centuries-old Guru Nanak Palace in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat remarks in Udaipur implying a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya has brought up the issue in the public eye yet again, though the dispute is pending in the Supreme Court.
Bhagwat made the comments during his visit to Udaipur on Sunday for a "mandir pran pratishtha" programme in Pratap Gaurav Kendra, where he was accompanied by spiritual leader Morari Bapu.
