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Navjot Singh Sidhu
Congress
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Former international cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu joined politics in 2004 when he contested from Amritsar in Punjab on a BJP ticket. His father Bhagwant Singh had been Punjab’s Advocate General and a member of the Congress party in the state.
Hailing from Patiala, Sidhu became an international cricketer in the 1980s and quit in the 1999. Famous for his stodgy batting style and quiet nature, Sidhu transformed into a Cricket commentator, tv personality and politician after retiring from Cricket.
He won from Amritsar in 2009 as well but was asked to not contest in 2014 by his party, BJP. Arun Jaitley was made the candidate from the seat in his place. He quit the BJP in 2016 after he had been made a member of the Rajya Sabha. He joined the Indian National Congress in 2017 and contested the elections from Amritsar East for the Punjab Legislative Assembly.
He now serves as a minister in the Punjab government, led by Amarinder Singh. Sidhu has worked as Cricket commentator in both English and Hindi languages. He became popular for his unique style of commentary. His loquaciousness led to him becoming a judge on different tv shows thus making him more popular. A very popular campaigner, he is now one of the star campaigners for the Congress party.
Sidhu has been plagued by different controversies through his life. In a 1988 case, he was accused of culpable homicide. He was accused of hitting a man after an argument which led to his death. In 2017, the Supreme Court acquitted him of homicide and held him guilty of causing hurt. This did not lead to him losing his membership of the legislative assembly.
As a cricketer, he walked out of an Indian Test team on tour in England in 1996 when he had a dispute with captain Mohammad Azharuddin. He returned to the team later and retired in 1999.
Recently, he has been attacked for advocating peace with Pakistan and for his friendly relations with Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
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Navjot Singh Sidhu In News
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Sidhu's next step unclear, Cong leaders hope he will continue with party
On Saturday too, Sidhu was unavailable and did not react to the acceptance of his resignation| July 20, 2019, Saturday -
General can't say no to a posting: CM on Sidhu quitting after Cabinet rejig
Asked if it was embarrassing for his government that differences between him and Sidhu were playing out in the public, the chief ...| July 15, 2019, Monday -
Navjot Singh Sidhu tweets letter of resignation as Punjab Cabinet Minister
Sidhu took to Twitter on Sunday, making public his resignation letter dated June 10 addressed to Congress President Rahul Gandhi| July 14, 2019, Sunday -
Sidhu's 'persecution complex' puts him in a fix in Punjab politics
With Sidhu in a self-imposed exile, his future in the Congress depends not just on apotheosizing the Gandhis but also on his ...| June 16, 2019, Sunday -
Sidhu sidelined? Punjab CM forms consultative groups, leaves out minister
Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh| June 08, 2019, Saturday -
Navjot Sidhu skips Punjab cabinet meet, says can't be taken for granted
Amarinder had recently said he intended to change the cricketer-turned-politician's portfolio of local government department over ...| June 06, 2019, Thursday -
Sidhu to file defamation suit against TV channel for airing 'fake' video
He alleged the slogans were of 'jo bole so nihaal' and was shown as in favour of Pakistan in the video| December 03, 2018, Monday -
Amarinder Singh a 'fatherly figure' to me, will sort out issues: Sidhu
A controversy erupted when Sidhu in Hyderabad called Congress President Rahul Gandhi his 'captain' and Amarinder an 'army| December 03, 2018, Monday -
Cong MLAs call for Sidhu's exit over 'Rahul is captain' jibe at Punjab CM
Punjab minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria said that Sidhu should put down his papers if he disapproved Amarinder as the state ...| December 02, 2018, Sunday -
Letter to BS: We should not cry foul over Sidhu's conduct in Pakistan
Pak army chief chose to hug him in full public view, a gesture which made Sidhu forget that the Pak army supported the Khalistan ...| August 23, 2018, Thursday
