No issues with Sidhu, gave him important portfolio, recommended ticket for his wife: Amarinder

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday downplayed the speculations of all not being well between him and his Cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu by stating that he not only gave Sidhu an important portfolio but also recommended an LS ticket from Bhatinda for his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu.

Speaking to mediapersons hours after Punjab lawmaker Sidhu claimed to have sent his resignation letter to him, Amarinder said, "I have no issues with him, I had in fact given him a very important portfolio after the reshuffle. It was his decision to quit the Cabinet. I have been told that he has sent the letter to my office, will go through it and then see what is to be done."

He also talked about the ways in which he had supported both Sidhu and his wife in the past and said, "have never opposed Mrs Sidhu, in fact, I was the one who recommended to Rahul Ji that she contest from Bathinda. It was Sidhu who said that his wife will not contest from Bathinda but from Chandigarh. So it was not for him to decide this, the party decides these things."

Earlier in the day, Sidhu sent his resignation to the Chief Minister at his official residence, ending speculations that ensued through the weekend following the announcement of his exit from the Cabinet.

Last month, the cricketer-turned-politician had submitted his resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi instead of Amarinder Singh. It remains unclear as to why the resignation was not sent to Singh in the past one month.

Singh and Sidhu have been at loggerheads since his controversial visit to Pakistan for the swearing-in ceremony of Imran Khan last year where he had hugged the Army Chief leading to a huge controversy back home.

The rift was further widened during the general elections when Sidhu and his wife accused Amarinder of having had a hand in the denial of ticket to her to contest from either Chandigarh or Amritsar.

On June 6, the Congress leader was stripped of the portfolios of Local government, Tourism and Culture Ministry by the Chief Minister after the party won eight parliamentary seats out of 13 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.

Meanwhile, in Delhi today the Punjab CM met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Parliament, as a courtesy call.

After the meeting, he said, "I wanted to meet the PM because I haven't met him since he joined as PM for his second tenure. So I met him officially today.