Punjab Congress tussle deepens, Harish Rawat tells Navjot Sidhu to shunt out his two advisers

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 26

In a setback for PPCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab affairs in-charge Harish Rawat told him to remove his advisers — Malwinder Singh Mali and Dr Pyare Lal Garg. Both had raked controversy with their comments and posts on sensitive issues like Kashmir and Pakistan.

Editorial: Congress mess: Leadership not doing enough to quell dissidence

Sidhu’s Dig at Capt on cheaper power

PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu took to Twitter to remind the CM of his resolve to give domestic power at Rs3 per unit by scrapping PPAs. “The promise must be fulfilled,” he said.

“The party has a line on J&K that it is a part of India,” said Rawat. The advisers were appointed by Sidhu in his personal capacity.

Also read: Navjot Sidhu’s adviser Malwinder Singh Mali courts controversy over Kashmir

The reprimand to Sidhu comes in wake of CM Capt Amarinder Singh and other party leaders calling the comments of the advisers as “atrocious and ill-conceived”. A group of ministers and MLAs had called for their removal.

They said the matter had given ammunition to the Opposition parties, which were quick to recall Sidhu’s “bonhomie with the Pakistan PM and Army chief” and warned against the damage this could do to the Congress in the run-up to the 2022 state Assembly polls.

Also read: BJP ‘praises’ Navjot Sidhu’s adviser Malwinder Singh Mali over Indira Gandhi post

Hours after Rawat’s statement, Sidhu was back on Twitter reminding the CM of party’s resolve to give cheaper power to consumers by scrapping the PPAs. He shared a pre-2017 election video of the CM speaking on the matter.