Congress, AAP desperate to woo deadwood Sidhu: Akali Dal

Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday said that both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were desperate to woo cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu who was a 'political deadwood'.

"The concerted efforts of both the Congress and AAP for over a month to woo political deadwood Navjot Singh Sidhu only reflects their desperation in the face of impending humiliating defeat in the 2017 assembly elections. These parties hope that Sidhu will bail them out," Punjab Chief Minister's political adviser Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal said in a statement here.

Grewal said Sidhu was hobnobbing with these parties only to secure plum positions for himself and his wife Navjot Kaur, if they won the elections.

"Has Sidhu talked of any programme or vision for Punjab or its people?" Grewal asked.

"First decide whether he or his wife will be offered Deputy Chief Minister's post or not. Rest can wait and be decided later on," Grewal said, adding that Sidhu's political ambitions overshadowed everything else.

Sidhu, who quit the Rajya Sabha in July to which he was nominated as a member by the Bharatiya Janata Party, floated a political forum 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' after leaving the BJP in September.

Sidhu, a former BJP MP from Amritsar, has been critical of the Akali Dal leadership, including Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his family.

--IANS

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