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."
A day after withdrawing the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan, India on Saturday slapped a 200 per cent import duty on all goods originating or exported from Pakistan.
A pall of gloom combined with anger and patriotic fervour was witnessed across the country on Saturday as the tricolour-bedecked mortal remains of the CRPF troopers
Questioning why proper security arrangements "were not" made for movement of CRPF personnel in Pulwama, he said a permanent solution was needed to end the repeated killings of jawans.
The last rites of four CRPF troopers from Punjab, who were killed in Thursday's terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, were performed on Saturday as their remains were consigned to flames in their villages.
The Sikh religion prohibits devout Sikhs to remove the turban from their heads in any circumstances and forcing them to do it completely or partly under any legal obligation would result in hurting their religious sentiments
