Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been allotted Power Department after the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh took away the Local Government and Tourism Departments from him in the Cabinet rejig, is yet to take over the charge of his new ministry.
Sidhu has gone incommunicado on Friday, fuelling speculation on whether he will take charge of his new assignment. Reports are that he has left for New Delhi to meet the party chief Rahul Gandhi.
The cricketer-turned-politician and his wife Dr Navjot Kaur stayed away from the media.
An aide refused to divulge any details about the minister amid speculation over Sidhu's next move.
Amid a tussle with Capt Amarinder, Sidhu was stripped of his Local Government, Tourism and Cultural Affairs portfolios in the Punjab cabinet reshuffle on Thursday. 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. Instead, he chose to address the media at his official residence on Thursday.
Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Badal took potshots at the change of Sidhu's portfolios. “Interesting. Amarinder removes sherryontop' (Sidhu) from the local bodies citing his performance as the reason for the Cong defeat in urban areas in the Lok Sabha poll. And now Sidhu has been given Power' so that Sidhu can 'perform' and achieve the same results in rural areas,” Sukhbir Badal said in a tweet.