Amritsar/Chandigarh: As the tug of war continues between Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, the state Congress leaders have started to distance themselves from the latter.
In what could be seen as Sidhu's weakening clout in his home constituency Amritsar, the Congress hoardings that have emerged in the city of late have no pictures of him.
The hoardings, which have cropped up across the city to congratulate the newly-appointed chairman of the Amritsar Improvement Trust, Dinesh Bassi, are conspicuous by the absence of Navjot Singh Sidhu's photograph. His wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu's pictures, too, can’t be seen either.
Interestingly, Bassi is one of the four people who have been appointed as the chairpersons of as many Improvement Trusts. The newly-appointed chairman is known to be a close aide of Mines Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria who, along with other state Congress leaders, had met senior AICC leader Ahmed Patel against Navjot Singh Sidhu last week.
Dinesh Bassi is a senior Congress leader from Amritsar. He had eyed Assembly ticket from Amritsar (East) in 2017, but the Congress had fielded Sidhu. Reportedly, the Punjab minister hadn't even allowed Bassi to contest Amritsar MC elections.
The posts, mainly political appointees, had been lying vacant for over two years after Navjot Singh Sidhu, being the local bodies' minister, had relieved the chairpersons all across Punjab and handed over their charge to the government officials. Punjab has 28 Improvement Trusts.
Navjot Singh Sidhu has been replaced by Brahm Mohindra as the local bodies’ minister. The change took place on June 6, but the former cricketer is yet to take charge of his new ministry.
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