Sidhu reportedly resigned from his parliamentary seat after Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, a state unit leader of the BJP, became chairman of the Amritsar Improvement Trust.
Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu’s “resignation” continued to rattle the BJP in Punjab. What complicated matters was that there was no word from the laughter show host — he remained in hiding for the third day in a row — and there were no signs that the crisis would abate or become bigger. In the midst of this confusion, there were reports that several of his supporters have also put in their papers to show their support to their leader.
Sidhu reportedly resigned from his parliamentary seat after Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, a state unit leader of the BJP, became chairman of the Amritsar Improvement Trust. Sidhu had been opposing his nomination to the office on the ground that Chhina had worked against him in the recent Lok Sabha election.
The MP and former cricketer feels that the party had elevated Chhina to a coveted post to show him (Sidhu) in a poor light. Chhina is the Punjab BJP secretary and had lost the Amritsar-west assembly seat in February 2007.
BJP’s central observer for Punjab, Balbir Punj, denied that Sidhu had resigned as MP and assured that all differences between leaders of the party would be resolved shortly.
Some of the state BJP leaders have termed Sidhu’s action as “snobbish’. A senior leader said party appointments were not the sole prerogative of an MP, even though he could be one of the popular faces. “Sidhu should respect party discipline”, he added.
Sidhu who contested and won from Amritsar, first in 2004, has since been inaccessible.
Party sources confirmed that party strategist Arun Jaitley had been making efforts to resolve the crisis, but he has made no headway as yet. Sidhu has been a popular face for the BJP in Punjab, and has been te only candidate from the party who won a seat in the state this general election.
At a meeting of BJP leaders in Jalandhar last month, Sidhu had openly blamed state ministers and leaders for the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}