Chandigarh: After Navjot Singh Sidhu met Rahul Gandhi on Friday, October 15, in Delhi, it had appeared that issues in the friction-ridden Punjab Congress will be resolved soon.
Gandhis, it appeared, were also expecting Sidhu to announce the withdrawal of his resignation as Punjab Congress chief. Sidhu resigned last month, reportedly after friction with new Congress chief minister Charanjit Channi.
Congress Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat’s Friday statement that Sidhu has assured Rahul Gandhi that he has withdrawn his resignation and will resume his duties soon was part of the party’s strategy to get a formal announcement out of Sidhu.
But instead of the formal announcement, Sidhu on Sunday, October 17, circulated a letter that he wrote to Sonia Gandhi on October 15 (the day he met Rahul Gandhi), asking her to direct the new CM Channi to address 13 key issues including sacrilege, the sand and drug mafia, the power purchase agreement that keeps electricity from being cheaper, among others.
His letter to Sonia Gandhi, many believe, is a clear indication that the tug of war between Sidhu and Channi is far from over.
Besides, the chances of his return as PCC chief are also doubtful at this stage, making it amply clear that problems are far from over for the ruling Congress ahead of fresh state elections.
Sidhu was expecting to take over the reins of the state after his months-long war against Captain Amarinder Singh resulted in the latter’s ouster.
But the party instead chose Channi, due to his credentials as Dalit leader, in order to neutralise the Dalit vote politics being played in Punjab ever since the farmers’ movement changed the old Hindu-Sikh political equation.
Since then, Sidhu has been trying to regain political relevance in Punjab after Channi made it amply clear that he will not tolerate Sidhu’s interventions in key government decisions.
It was, therefore, not surprising when Sidhu embarrassed Channi by resigning from the post of Punjab Congress chief on September 26 by alleging that the Channi government was siding with corruption by inducting a tainted minister in new cabinet.
Also read: Punjab Cabinet: Sidhu Faces Flak Over Inclusion of Leader Facing Mining Scam Allegations
Besides, he also targeted Channi government over appointing top law and police officers, who had in the past played a vital role in protecting those with dubious involvement in key issues like sacrilege and drugs.
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi (in yellow turban) with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu (green turban). Photo: By arrangement.
‘Last chance of redemption’
Pushing Channi’s lack of performance into further spotlight, Sidhu told Sonia in the latest letter, “I express with a lot of pain in my heart that this is Punjab’s last chance for resurrection and redemption.”
He said 13 points (that he mentioned in the letter) are very important to address to “save” Punjab.
“Else, Mafia-Raj ruling the State patronized by the Badals will take the state to the extend of financial emergency, joblessness, corruption and agrarian crisis, from which, there will be no return, he wrote
Phrases like ‘last chance’ or ‘last damage control exercise’ are seen as attempts by Sidhu to project himself as the saviour of Punjab’s future, keep his political relevance alive and at the same time put pressure on the Channi government to act in accordance with the agenda set by him.
The said narrative serves Sidhu’s effort to undermine Channi who has otherwise got a major boast due to his credential as Punjab’s first Dalit CM.
If Channi will succumb under Sidhu’s pressure is anyone’s guess, given that he is gaining popularity every passing day. Channi’s recent meet with the disgruntled Captain Amarinder Singh at the latter’s house indicates new changing equations within Punjab Congress as well.
As far as Sidhu is concerned, he is a man in a hurry. Sidhu in the past has maintained that he does not aspire for power. He was recently caught on camera reportedly saying, “This man (assumed to be Channi) will sink the Congress in 2022 (assembly election). They (Congress high command) should have made me CM”.
What is Sidhu’s 13 point agenda?
First of all Sidhu has sought justice by punishing the main culprits behind the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib Ji and police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan. It is however a separate matter that this political positioning on sacrilege has resulted in an extreme environment – as seen in the Singhu lynching where Nihangs justified the brutal killing of Dalit man in the name of addressing sacrilege.
Secondly, Sidhu focused on how the drug menace plagued almost an entire generation of Punjab. He demanded that the big fish behind drug trafficking in Punjab as mentioned in the STF report must be immediately arrested and given exemplary punishment.
Thirdly, he demanded reforms in agriculture by creating infrastructure such as cold storages and agro-processing industry through state funds, under control of farmers; bringing changes into cooperative law to give farmers control and autonomy over agriculture-based cooperatives, expanding network of cooperatives from farm to fork giving marginalised and small farmers access to storage, agro-processing and trading; for state-owned corporations to procure crops beyond wheat and rice, such as oilseeds and dals at Minimum Support Price; bringing in policy for MSP and procurement for fruits and vegetables.
Fourth, he sought cheap and 24-hour supply of power to all domestic consumers, especially urban domestic consumers who suffer the most due to a cross-subsidy burden upon them, considering that there is a decreased power tariff for industrial and commercial use, and free power for agriculture.
Sidhu also demanded the release of white-paper and cancellation of all faulty Power Purchase Agreements with private power generation companies.
Apart from this, Sidhu sought the empowerment of Scheduled Caste communities and those belonging to the Backward Castes.
Also read: Channi Has Unveiled the Possibility of SC-Dominated Politics in Punjab. And Some Aren’t Happy.
In a clear dig at Channi, he said that even after the high command’s progressive decision of appointing a Dalit CM to give the under-privileged more voice in the government, it has not been supported in the state in equal measure as, “We should have at least one Mazbhi Sikh in Cabinet, representation [of] Dalits from Doaba, at least two representatives from [the] Backward Caste Community in the Cabinet.”
He said, “We must fulfil our promise of 5 Marla plots to SCs, money for pakka ceiling for every Dalit household, agricultural lands to landless poor, fixing responsibility and initiating inquiry into Post-Matric scholarship scam, while clearing dues to the Dalits students for pursuing their education further.”
He also raised the issue of employment and talked about filling up thousands of vacant government posts on a regular basis along with addressing grievances of employees unions. More than 20 unions (teachers, doctors, nurses, line-men, safai karamcharis, etc.) are protesting across the state.
“We must take there demands under compassionate consideration, I am forwarding each application and memorandum received by Pradesh Congress to relevant ministry for taking steps for inclusive development,” Sidhu added.
He also raised the issue of sand mining. He said sand is a natural common property resource belonging to the people, not to a few powerful, its mining must be done for welfare of the people, to earn revenue for the state in a sustainable manner, while protecting the environment.
“Punjab has potential of earning minimum of [Rs] 2000 crores from Sand Mining, while providing cheap sand at fixed rates to the consumers, but during Badal regime Punjab earned only [Rs] 40 Crore per year,” he said.
He also talked about weeding out corruption in transport, liquor and cable mafia business besides
