CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation from his post has not been accepted and the matter will be resolved soon, said party MLA Bawa Henry on Tuesday.
“Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation has not been accepted. The matter will be resolved soon. There are 3-4 issues. They are being discussed in the party forum. Party high command will resolve them,” Henry told reporters. Meanwhile, Punjab Ministers Pargat Singh and Amrinder Singh Raja Warring met Sidhu at his residence in Patiala.
“There are some minor issues that arose out of some misunderstandings and will be resolved tomorrow,” Warring told reporters while leaving Sidhu’s residence. In a dramatic turn of events in Punjab, state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu tendered his resignation to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday afternoon.
“The collapse of a man’s character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab. Therefore, I hereby resign as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Will continue to serve the Congress,” Sidhu said in his resignation letter.
However, sources close to Congress said that Sidhu’s resignation has not been accepted. Top leadership has asked the state leadership to resolve the matter at their own level first, they said.
Sidhu was appointed as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) on July 23.
A series of resignations poured in after Sidhu’s resignation. A minister and three Congress leaders, considered close to Sidhu, stepped down from their posts delivering a big blow to the Congress high command that was hoping of resolving the tussle between Sidhu and captain Amarinder Singh after Navjot was appointed as Punjab Congress President ahead of the Assembly elections early next year.
Punjab Cabinet Minister Razia Sultana resigned from her ministerial post in “solidarity” with Sidhu. While Gautam Seth resigned as General Secretary (in-charge training) of Punjab Congress, Yoginder Dhingra resigned as General Secretary of the party’s state unit. State party treasurer Gulzar Inder Chahal also stepped down from his post.
Sidhu’s resignation came just before former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh‘s visit to the national capital, who was visiting Delhi after he resigned on September 18. The tussle in Punjab Congress escalated in August when the party’s central leadership sought to bury the hatchet by appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu as the Congress chief apparently against the desire of the Chief Minister. (ANI)