'Arrogant' Sidhu following Kejriwal's footsteps: BJP

Taking a jibe at Navjot Singh Sidhu for floating a new political party in Punjab, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said the 'arrogant' cricketer-turned politician is now following the footsteps of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who ditched his mentor for fulfilling his political desires.

Emphasizing that the saffron party gave Sidhu a platform to begin his political career, BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said the former, who has ditched the outfit, will now realize how difficult it is to survive in politics without a mentor.

"After listing to Sidhu's conference, I saw a mirror image of Arvind Kejriwal in him. Like Kejriwal parted ways with his ideologue Anna Hazare and formed a party to fulfill his political desires, similarly Sidhu has left his ideologue the BJP and formed a front through which he wants to fulfill his desires," said Singh.

"A political outfit is like a mother. Sidhu might be a cricket legend but it was the BJP which got him in politics, made him the MP and then gave him a Rajya Sabha seat but he left us. Now that he has floated a front, he will know that how difficult it is to survive in politics," he added.

Sidhu earlier today formally launched a new political party 'Awaaz-e-Punjab', which will contest the Punjab Assembly elections next year.

Former Indian hockey skipper and legislator from the Jalandhar (East) constituency Pargat Singh, who was suspended by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and two Independent legislators Balwinder Singh Bains and Simarjeet Singh Bains, popularly known as Bains brothers, are other prominent leaders of the newly-launched front in Punjab.

The launch of the new front came after a flip-flop, with Sidhu, who was earlier tipped to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), but his bargain for the party's chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming Punjab assembly polls fell apart, after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal purportedly refused to accept his demand, and reportedly also denied a party ticket to the former cricketer's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, citing the norms established by the party's constitution that prohibits tickets to two persons of a family.

Taking a dig at the BJP-SAD government in Punjab, Sidhu said, "A government should be for the people, but in Punjab it is all about one family (the Badals). The people of the state say the 'black clouds' (Badals) should pave way to the bright sun."

He further said, "Kejriwalji tweeted about the meeting with me, but he said half truth. Let me complete it: Kejriwalji told me 'don't fight elections and ask your wife to contest, we will make her a minister'. I said 'Sat Shri Akal'; you (Kejriwal) only want 'Yes Men'.