RS nomination was a mere burden, purpose defeated: Sidhu post resignation

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Navjot Singh Sidhu who resigned from the Rajya Sabha, on Monday said his nomination in the Upper House was a mere burden, adding that the purpose behind it stood defeated now.

In a statement released today, Sidhu said that at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he had accepted the Rajya Sabha nomination for the welfare of Punjab.

"With the closure of every window leading to Punjab, the purpose stands defeated. It is now a mere burden, I prefer not to carry it. In the war of right or wrong, you cannot afford to be neutral rather than being self-centred. Punjab's interest is paramount," he said.

Signaling major developments ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab, Sidhu earlier today tendered his resignation from the Upper House.

According to reports, Sidhu might join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab.

The former cricketer, who was thrice the Lok Sabha member from the BJP, was asked to step away from contesting the polls in Amritsar during the 2014 general election to make way for fellow member Arun Jaitley.

Jaitley, however, lost the election to Congress leader Amrinder Singh.

On April this year, Sidhu was nominated as the Rajya Sabha MP after reports emerged that he was joining the AAP, which has been campaigning aggressively for the Punjab assembly elections.