'Won't Meet Till He Apologises Publicly': Signs That Amarinder-Sidhu Tiff is Far from Ending

In a comment indicating strained ties between Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and newly-appointed state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu will continue, Singh said he will not meet Sidhu until he tenders an apology for his “derogatory” tweets against him, his media advisor said on Tuesday.

“Reports of sherryontop seeking time to meet capt_amarinder are totally false. No time has been sought whatsoever. No change in stance… CM won’t meet Navjot Singh Sidhu till he publicly apologises for his personally derogatory social media attacks against him,” tweeted media advisor Raveen Thukral.

The statement came hours after Sidhu in his trip to Jalandhar and Amritsar reached out to several MLAs from the regions. The newly-appointed state unit chief had gone out a roadshow in his bastion Amritsar. Though some MLAs accompanied him, some senior leaders from the area, considered close to Capt Amarinder were conspicuous by their absence.

Earlier, in the day senior cabinet minister Brahm Mohindra also issued a statement stating that he won’t meet Sidhu until he sorted out issues with the Chief Minister, indicating that there were chinks in the peace formula at the party high command.

In a statement, Mohindra said the party high-command’s decision to appoint Sidhu as the state Congress chief is welcome. “However, I will not meet him (Sidhu) till he meets the chief minister and resolves his issues with him,” he said. Mohindra said Singh is the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) and he is duty-bound to follow him.

Capt Amarinder is yet to congratulate Sidhu on his elevation from Amritsar East MLA’s elevation to the post of Punjab Congress chief. The statement from his media advisor shows that the crisis in the Punjab Congress is still not over.

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