The googly Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu’s wife, Navjot Kaur, threw at the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has hit the stumps.
A day after her outburst on alleged sidelining of the cricketer-turned-politician, the BJP leadership on Thursday said that Sidhu won’t be declared out behind his back.
Apprehending that Sidhu was being declared retired hurt, his wife on Wednesday had hinted that he would himself declare an end to his political innings and walk back to the pavilion due to the bouncers being hurled by the BJP leadership, such as excluding him out of the party’s national team.
Her comments were being interpreted as an attempt to pre-empt the party’s decision, rather than an expression of resentment against relegating Sidhu as an extra in ‘Team BJP’.
Sidhu, a first-time BJP legislator and chief parliamentary secretary for Health in Punjab Government, has, in fact, hinted that her husband — the three-time MP from Amritsar — may declare his inning and not contest the 2014 parliamentary polls.
“I have been listening since past six months or so that my husband is staying away from the constituency, and doing nothing for it….and he is, rather, more interested for being in limelight and cricket. But, this is all wrong. He has been doing a lot for his constituency, but he is not getting support by the Government,” Navjot told The Pioneer.
“He has been accused of keeping away from here, but the reality is that he has been sidelined by the party itself. Despite being three-time MlA, he was not included in national executive; instead his rivals were given postings. He was not consulted while selecting party leaders for Amritsar district bodies,” she added.
Contrarily, Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma out rightly denied Sidhu’s allegations of “sidelining” her husband. “I can say anything only after talking to him,” said Sharma, while talking to The Pioneer, in the afternoon.