Rs 500 crore needed to become Punjab CM: Navjot Kaur Sidhu

Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of cricketer‑turned‑politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, has stirred up a political storm in Punjab by alleging that “a suitcase full of Rs 500 crore” has to be given to become the Chief Minister in Punjab — which her husband cannot pay.

The former MLA was talking to media persons on Saturday evening after meeting Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria here on issues, including “deteriorating” law and order in the state.

Though she did not name any party when making the comment, she specifically said that Sidhu would return to active politics only if he is made the Congress CM face. Noting that there was much infighting in the party, she said, “there are already five chief ministers (faces of the Congress) who are busy making the party lose. If they (high command) understand this, then it is a different matter.”

She added that they do not have any money to give to any party, but can transform Punjab into a “golden state”. Replying to a question, she said her husband is “strongly attached” to the Congress and leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

While PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, when asked, refused to be drawn into the controversy — saying it was for the party high command to comment — former Deputy CM and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the Sidhu family should be shown the door.

He said, “It seems that the mission for which the Sidhu family came to the Congress has been completed. Will he tell us how much he had given to be the Punjab Congress president — which was equivalent to the Chief Minister at that time — and to whom? Now, if we look at his past performance, it is clear that he used to speak only according to the script prepared by the opposition, which caused huge losses to the Congress. Now he is stabbing the party in the back.”

BJP and AAP target Congress

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar claimed that when he was in the Congress, he had faced a similar situation. “I was told from the horse’s mouth that you get chief ministership not because you have done good deeds but because of Rs 350 crore. I do not have an audio recording of that conversation, but maybe Mrs Sidhu has one.”

National General Secretary Tarun Chugh today said that Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu has exposed the politics of money bags in the Congress by publicly stating that the Chief Minister’s chair in Punjab costs Rs 500 crore, which her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu cannot pay.

Chugh said that when the wife of a senior Congress leader herself admits that the CM position can be purchased, it demonstrates a complete moral collapse in the party. He said this shows that the party’s internal functioning has reduced Punjab’s politics to a money-driven auction system instead of a democratic leadership process.

AAP chief spokesperson and Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Dhaliwal today held Congress’ internal conflict and arrogance responsible for its present condition. Referring to Navjot Sidhu’s statement, he said this exposes the internal reality of the party. Dhaliwal said that five people are roaming around Punjab claiming to be the chief ministerial face of Congress. “This is the reason the party has been ruined,” he added.

Referring to the recent Tarn Taran bypolls, Dhaliwal said that factionalism, arrogance, and the buying and selling of tickets have destroyed the party. “Now, neither the workers want to stand with them, nor does the public. They are playing victim in the recent allegations of violence against their workers and MLAs,” he said.