Punjab / Sidhu to meet Punjab CM at 3 pm, tweets 'he is welcome for any discussions'

Chandigarh: Navjot Singh Sidhu, the man who triggered a political turmoil in Punjab, on Thursday reciprocated chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi's offer of talks saying he will reach Chandigarh Bhavan at 3pm. Sidhu resigned as the chief of the Congress party's Punjab unit, miffed over some appointments in the Channi cabinet. The chief minister had said that differences over these issues can be resolved through talks.

"Chief Minister has invited me for talks … will reciprocate by reaching Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh at 3:00 PM today, he is welcome for any discussions!" Sidhu said on Twitter.

He had expressed his anguished in a video message on Wednesday by raising questions over the appointments of the director general of police and the state's advocate general. Sidhu said that his objective had always been to improve the lives of people and “to make a difference”.

“My fight is for the issues and an agenda of Punjab,” he said in an over four-minute video clip shared on his Twitter handle.

In an apparent reference to the 2015 sacrilege incidents in Faridkot, Sidhu said those who gave clean chits to the Badals six years ago had been given the responsibility of delivering justice. DGP Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota was the head of a special investigation team (SIT) formed in 2015 by the then Akali government to probe the sacrilege incidents. He also apparently questioned the appointment of senior advocate APS Deol as the new advocate general of Punjab. “My soul jitters when I see those who secured blanket bails, they are advocate general. What is the agenda here?” he asked.

Sidhu's announcement today about the talks came after Channi reached out to him on Wednesday, and offered to resolve issues through talks. The newly-appointed chief minister Channi said the party is supreme and the government follows its ideology.

"I have spoken to Sidhu sahab over the telephone today. The party is supreme and the government accepts the party's ideology and follows that. (I told him that) You come, sit and talk," Channi told reporters on Wednesday.

Efforts are on to placate Sidhu with several party leaders, including ministers Pargat Singh and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, meeting him at his residence in Patiala.

Sidhu has remained confined to his home ever since he resigned.

His sudden resignation came as first major political crisis for Channi who took over as Punjab chief minister just 10 days ago. Sidhu resigned barely 72 days after he was appointed the chief of Punjab's Congress unit, pushing the party into a fresh crisis in poll-bound Punjab before it could recover from months of turmoil caused by a bitter tussle between Sidhu and his bête noire, then chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, left the party divided.