‘Essential to purge the party’: Navjot Singh Sidhu calls for assessment of Congress' ‘assets, liabilities’ amid Himachal crisis

Sidhu says Rajya Sabha poll defeat was not just of the party candidate but had larger implications

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. PTI file

PTI

Chandigarh, February 28

As the Congress faces a crisis in Himachal Pradesh after a humiliating defeat in the Rajya Sabha polls, party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday called for an assessment of the party’s “assets and liabilities”.

The former Punjab unit president said the Rajya Sabha poll defeat was not just of the party candidate but had “larger” implications.

In a stunning upset for the ruling Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP on Tuesday won the state’s lone Rajya Sabha seat with its candidate Harsh Mahajan defeating Congress stalwart Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

The voting was a tie with both the Congress and the BJP candidates getting 34 votes, indicating that at least six Congress MLAs voted against the party. The result was then declared on the basis of a draw of lots, officials said.

The Congress on Wednesday scrambled to save its government in Himachal Pradesh, amid dramatic developments that included the resignation of high-profile minister Vikramaditya Singh.

In a post on X, Sidhu said, “The Himachal fiasco calls for an assessment of assets and liabilities for the Grand Old Party??? 'Masqueraders' on plum posts covertly dancing to the tunes of agencies like CBI, ED and IT have spelt dooms day for us many a times!”

“...It is essential to purge the party of those who prioritize personal gain over the collective good, for their actions inflict profound wounds on the party's very existence...the wounds might heal but the mental scars will remain...Their gain is the Congress worker's biggest pain,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-politician asserted, “Loyalty is not everything but the only thing!!!”

In December last year, a section of Congress leaders in Punjab had sought disciplinary action against Sidhu for holding rallies on his own.

Sidhu had later said that discipline should not imply different things for different people.