Navjot Singh Sidhu Resigns As Minister From Punjab Cabinet Amid Tiff With CM Amarinder

In a tweet on Sunday, Sidhu revealed that he had tendered his resignation to Rahul Gandhi on June 10, 2019. He said he will also submit his resignation to Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu said, he will soon submit his resignation to Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh/ Image: Getty Images

New Delhi: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu revealed that he has resigned as minister in the Punjab cabinet, in a tweet on Sunday. He made public his resignation letter submitted about a month ago to Rahul Gandhi. In the tweet, Sidhu revealed that he had tendered his resignation on June 10, 2019.   “I hereby resign as Minister from the Punjab cabinet,” he said in the hand-written letter dated June 10.

My letter to the Congress President Shri. Rahul Gandhi Ji, submitted on 10 June 2019. pic.twitter.com/WS3yYwmnPl

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) July 14, 2019

However, as per sources close to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the CM has not yet received any resignation from Sidhu. Sidhu later tweeted that he will be sending his letter to the CM as well.

Will be sending my resignation to the Chief Minister, Punjab.

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) July 14, 2019

As per sources, Sidhu has been at a discord with Singh over Lok Sabha poll results, which could be a reason behind his resignation. Earlier on June 10, Sidhu had tweeted a picture with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Ahmed Patel and said: “Met the congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation !”, without giving any further detail of “the letter”.

Met the congress President, handed him my letter, appraised him of the situation ! pic.twitter.com/ZcLW0rr8r3

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) June 10, 2019

Last month, after Punjab cabinet reshuffle, Sidhu was given charge of the power and renewable energy portfolio, following which Sidhu had gone incommunicado. He was divested of the Local Bodies and Tourism and Cultural Affairs Departments after he was blamed for the Congress' poor show in urban areas during the Lok Sabha elections. The opposition parties- SAD, BJP and AAP, slammed Amarinder Singh, raising a question over his leadership. They claimed that the ongoing standoff between the two leaders had led to a situation akin to a "constitutional crisis" as a cabinet minister was "not ready to obey orders" of his CM.