Fissures within the Punjab Congress unit widened even more on Monday with the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa openly claiming that the state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu being “upset” with him ever since he became the Home Minister.
Sending across a clear message that “all is not well” within the Congress party’s Punjab unit, Randhawa even offered to “resign and leave the home department at Sidhu’s feet”.
The fresh round of bout started between Randhawa and Sidhu after Punjab Congress president attacked his own party’s government for “delay” in arresting SAD leader Bikram Majithia, who was escaping arrest after registration of a drugs case against him.
Randhawa, addressing the media on Monday, said that his government was doing its best to catch Majithia, who appears to have gone underground since December 22, when the State Police registered an FIR against him for his alleged involvement in a drug case.
Sidhu’s fresh attack came as the Youth Akali Dal, on January 1, posted Majithia’s pictures paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on its Facebook page.
Maintaining that Majithia’s pictures were “fake”, Randhawa claimed that SAD leader was not in the State while also denying that the state police knew his whereabouts.
“He is not in Punjab. He is not even using his cellphone. Even the Punjab security personnel are not with him,” said Randhawa.
Randhawa also maintained that the police also checked CCTV camera recordings at the gurudwara in Amritsar, and found that the pictures were old.
“He had not visited the Golden Temple recently. I am again saying he is not even in Punjab,” the Minister said while addressing mediapersons along with Congress national spokesperson Alka Lamba.
The state’s Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister maintained that he was ready to give up his position as home minister if there were others in the party who found that they could do a better job.
Also recalling that the Congress Government had gone to court demanding the Special Task Force report on the drug menace in Punjab be made public, Randhawa added,
“The court said that nobody had stopped us from acting. Hence we have acted on the report. We have registered an FIR. Majithia has now absconded. Police are raiding several places for his arrest.”