Chandigarh, February 17: Punjab cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, it would seem, is controversy’s favourite child.
As he faces mounting criticism over her statements over the Pulwama attack, Sidhu, Punjab’s Local Bodies Minister, skipped a cabinet meeting called to approve state budget that has to be tabled in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday.
This isn’t the first time Sidhu hasn’t put up an appearance after his controversial remarks. He also missed a meeting after his derisive remarks over Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Sidhu’s cabinet colleagues also say that the minister habitually “ducks” this way when he knows he would be pulled up for his statements.
At a press conference in November when he, apparently snidely, remarked: “Kaunsa captain? Oh, Captain Amarinder Singh ji? Mera captain Rahul Gandhi hai”.
The remarks, coming after he announced he was going to Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor groundbreaking ceremony, was seen as further proof of the friction between the two leaders who appeared to have reconciled during the 2017 assembly elections.
Sidhu said on Friday—a day after a dastardly suicide attack in Pulwama—that nations could not be blamed for a handful of people. Sidhu said, “There are good, bad and ugly people in our lives. Every place, institution and nation has them. The ugly needs to be punished, but individuals cannot be blamed for a dastardly act.” He said: “Nations cannot be blamed just for a handful of people. These people have no country, no religion. They act as deterrents in peace process. We need to deal with them strictly”.
His statement has drawn widespread condemnation. Several people took to Twitter to demand that The Kapil Show—on which Sidhu has been a staple for several years now—should sack him for his remarks.
A suicide bomber crashed his explosive-laden vehicle into a Central Reserve Police Force bus, blowing the up in smithereens and killing at least 40 troopers on Thursday. Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan based militant organisation, released a video claiming the attack. Jaish is believed to have links with Pakistan’s spy agency Interservices Intelligence.
