Advised rest, won’t attend Cabinet meet today: Sidhu

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 9

Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday said he would not attend the Cabinet meeting on Monday as he has been advised by his doctor not to speak till his next visit to Apollo Hospital in Delhi on December 11.

Showing his recently penned poem on relations with Pakistan while basking in the winter sun at his official residence here, Sidhu said, “My vocal cords are damaged and need rest and treatment to recuperate. Continuous helicopter travel is detrimental to my health as I had suffered a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) due to excess air travel some years ago. I am undergoing balm therapy and have been asked not to speak till Tuesday,” wrote Sidhu on a pad.

On his participation in the election campaign recently, Sidhu wrote, “I can say with full confidence that we are winning the elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Public reaction showed that they want a change.”

When asked that he would miss another opportunity to meet Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh after his “controversial” remark, Sidhu scribbled, “I have nothing in my heart. The statement - ‘Who Capt’ - has been distorted. The press conference was over and the journalist had asked me a question on Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He then connected it to Capt Amarinder Singh. In the news, later, he picked up just one line and chose to ignore the fact that I had also said Çapt Sahab is like a father figure.”

He wrote, “I am convinced that in case the Congress wins the 2019 General Election, our borders with Pakistan will open.”

He showed his lines that he claimed got 300 ‘likes’ on Twitter: “Ekk jhappi je langha khole, Taan dooji jhappi paiyae, Teeji chauthi panjvi chhevin, Sauvin jhappi paiyae”

Earlier, Sidhu along with a group of Indian journalists had taken part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Narowal, 120 km from Lahore, on November 28.

The 4 km-long corridor will connect Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district with Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib, Narowal in Pakistan. The corridor will provide visa-free access to the Indian Sikh pilgrims to the gurdwara.