‘Any Decision by Sonia Gandhi Acceptable to Me’, No Comment on Sidhu: Amarinder Amid Punjab Crisis

Putting the ball in Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s court, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that whatever decision she takes to end the crisis in the state unit will be acceptable to him.

The Punjab CM said this after attending a 1.30-hour-long meeting with the party chief to discuss the present political crisis confronting the Punjab congress.

“Whatever Sonia Gandhi decides about the party in Punjab will be acceptable to us and we will implement her will,’’ he told media persons in Delhi after the meeting.

Asked if any proposal to bring Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu into the decision-making process was discussed, Amarinder replied in the negative.

“I do not know anything about Navjot Singh Sidhu, we discussed government and political issues. I discussed only the government’s developmental agenda and political issues related to Punjab. I told the party president that whatever she wants on the development front was being implemented,’’ he said.

Sidhu and Amarinder have been at loggerheads with each other for the past few weeks, and the central leadership has been trying to defuse the crisis ahead of the state assembly elections due early next year. A panel was also formed by Sonia Gandhi led by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge to resolve the crisis.

Truce Between Sidhu, Amarinder Challenging Task

The stoic silence maintained by Amarinder on whether any truce formulation had been worked out is indicative of how challenging the task was, said party sources.

Sources also said that the Punjab CM was armed with several cabinet decisions that had been taken in recent times and also the progress on Kotkapura firing reinvestigations.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also met Sonia Gandhi before the latter’s meeting with Amarinder.

It was Priyanka who was instrumental in organising a meeting between Sidhu and Rahul Gandhi last week.

Sources said that Priyanka also briefed her mother on her earlier meeting with Sidhu. They, however, said that the likely truce between Amarinder and Sidhu seemed a difficult proposition given the ‘anti-Amarinder’ stance the latter had taken despite holding a meeting with Sonia Gandhi recently.

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