Divested of the Local Government Department in the recent Cabinet reshuffle exercise, the rebellious Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday met the Congress national president Rahul Gandhi “apprising him of the situation”.
Sidhu, who also met Priyanka Gandhi and senior party leader Ahmed Patel, is yet to assume the charge of his new Department. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh allocated the Power Department to Sidhu after taking away the Local Government and Tourism departments from him.
Sidhu, who has been camping in the national capital since past few days and was incommunicado ever since Capt Amarinder conducted Cabinet rejig, handed over a “letter” to Rahul Gandhi, reportedly apprising him about the performance of his Local Government Department, besides other issues related to the state Congress unit.
On the day of election results, Capt Amarinder minced no words to blame Sidhu for party’s not-so-good performance in the state’s urban pockets in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Capt Amarinder had already indicated that he intended to change Sidhu’s coveted portfolio of local bodies for his ‘inefficient handling’ that reflected in the poor performance of the party in urban centres like Bathinda and Sangrur.
To defend himself, Sidhu held two press conferences, presenting facts and figures, to point out that his Department had done exceedingly well during his two-year tenure.
It is believed that Sidhu has handed over these figures to the party chief.
“"Met the Congress President, handed him my letter, apprised him of the situation!” Sidhu tweeted on Monday along with a picture in which he was seen standing alongside Gandhis and Ahmed Patel.
It has also been learnt that Rahul Gandhi has given the responsibility of resolving the issue between Capt Amarinder and Sidhu to a Congress veteran leader Ahmed Patel.
Sidhu, who has been allotted Power Department, did not took over the charge of his new ministry even as the Chief Minister had asked his ministers to assume charge of their new departments. He was given the Power and New and Renewable Energy Sources Department.
The reshuffle, in which portfolios of most ministers were changed, took place hours after Sidhu skipped a cabinet meeting. InstQead, he chose to address the media at his official residence on Thursday.