Navjot Singh Sidhu loses key portfolio in Punjab Cabinet reshuffle

Chandigarh: Fissures in the Congress in Punjab deepened on Thursday with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh changing Navjot Singh Sidhu’s portfolio within hours of the cricketer-turned-politician snubbing him by skipping a Cabinet meeting.

The fast-paced developments came amidst the simmering tension between Capt. Singh and Mr. Sidhu which was triggered by the Chief Minister’s allegations that the Minister’s “inept handling” of the crucial Local Government department had resulted in the Congress’ “poor performance” in the urban areas in the Lok Sabha elections.

Asserting that he cannot be taken for granted, Mr. Sidhu told reporters that his department “is being singled out publicly” and claimed that urban areas had played a pivotal role in the party’s victory.

“I always regard him (Capt. Singh) as my elder and I always listen to him. But it hurts and now where is the collective responsibility? He could have called me and said anything he wanted to say. But I was singled out in spite of collective responsibility,” he said.

Mr. Sidhu was divested of the Local Government and Tourism and Cultural Affairs departments and given the Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources portfolio in the Cabinet rejig which the Chief Minister said would re-energise his team and further streamline the government. Barring four Ministers, there were some changes in the portfolios of all the others, according to an official statement.

Capt. Singh had also said Mr. Sidhu was perhaps “ambitious” and “wants to be the Chief Minister”. He had also alleged that the urban vote bank, the backbone of the Congress in Punjab, was impacted by Mr. Sidhu’s failure to do any development work.

“I cannot be taken for granted. I have been a performer throughout in 40 years of my life be it international cricket, or world class commentary with Geoffrey Boycott, TV shows or 1,300 motivational talks,” said Mr. Sidhu, adding that he would defend his name, credibility and performance “fiercely”.

He said, “Everybody is asking me why I did not go to the Cabinet meeting. Oath is administered when you become a Cabinet Minister, then it is said that it is a collective responsibility. I have been a political science student and it is taught that the rule is ‘we swim and we sink together’.”

Referring to past Cabinet meetings, Mr. Sidhu said his chair in these meetings might be “three inches” away from that of the CM, “but it seems I am too far from him and he lacks faith in me”.

In the recently held general election, the Congress won eight of the 13 seats. The SAD-BJP combine won four while the AAP managed to win only one seat.