I was on verge of losing my voice addressing 85 rallies in 17 days: Sidhu

Chandigarh, December 12

Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday said that he was on the verge of losing his voice as he addressed 85 rallies in 17 days in the three states, which damaged his vocal cords.

"I was on verge of losing my voice as I had injured my vocal cords, but now I have recovered totally," he said, adding that he did not speak for four days on advise of doctors. 

He credited Congress's victory in three Hindi heartland states to party chief Rahul Gandhi and said the win will change the "picture and fate" of the country.

Sidhu, who had gone to see chief minister Amarinder Singh at his residence, told reporters that now the farmers could talk about their rights.           

The party won assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.

"The Congress's win in the three states will change the picture and fate of the country," he told reporters.

He said even one win can change the picture and the Congress has registered three wins.

"The win has opened the doors of prosperity for farmers, employment for youth and better days for the poor," he said.

He said the polls were a "battle of truth", which have laid the foundation for a change on political front in the country in 2019.

He, however, sounded a word of caution for the partymen and claimed the Congress will not become complacent despite the victory.

Asserting that the Narendra Modi government had to pay for its "arrogance", Sidhu said "dictatorial" approach is not acceptable in democracy.

"You beat people, put them in jails...this is not acceptable," he said.

With the Congress's win, now the farmers could talk about his rights, he said.

Sidhu, who was recently in Pakistan for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor, said that the decision to open the corridor was a "good and positive omen".

"Everything has started getting right (after Kartarpur corridor)...The Congress won elections in three states...," he said.

He said that the issue of the Kartarpur Corridor should not be looked through "political lens" and "no one should go for credit".

He said that the opening of the corridor will open "many closed doors". Sidhu had attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor in Pakistan.

Kartarpur is located in Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, had spent more than 18 years of his life there. PTI