Navjot Sidhu backs wife’s claim on being denied Chandigarh ticket, Amarinder Singh refutes charge
Kaur, who wanted to contest from Chandigarh, said that Singh had allegedly claimed that only he was capable of leading the Congress to victory.
Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Thursday backed his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s allegation that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was responsible for her not getting a ticket for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, PTI reported.
Navjot Kaur Sidhu had claimed earlier this week that the chief minister and Congress’ state affairs in charge Asha Kumari had refused to give her the ticket. She had alleged that Singh said only he was capable of leading Congress to victory in Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats.
“She would never lie,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said at a press conference on Thursday. “My wife has that much strength and moral authority that she will never lie.”
“Amarinder and Asha Kumari think that Madam Sidhu does not deserve an MP ticket,” Navjot Kaur Sidhu reiterated her allegations to the media in Amritsar on Thursday. “My ticket from Amristar was denied on grounds that I could not win because of a train accident on Dussehra.”
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday dismissed the allegations, saying that he had no role to play in the denial of ticket to Navjot Kaur Sidhu, but he added that she was not a fit candidate, according to The Indian Express.
“Had I been asked, I would have frankly told the high command that Pawan Bansal, the chosen candidate of the party, was a better choice,” he said, adding that the Congress high command in Delhi decided on ticket allocations.
Singh added that Navjot Kaur Sidhu was also offered a ticket to contest from Bathinda or Amritsar, but she refused it. He alleged that Navjot Kaur Sidhu had said that her husband had put in a lot of effort for these seats so she did not want to tie him down in the state, according to The Hindustan Times reported.
On Thursday, Singh added that he will “accept responsibility and resign” if the Congress loses in Punjab, ANI reported.
Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu have often criticised each other in the past. Last year, in August, Singh had criticised Sindhu for hugging Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Pakistan.