Extendingsupport to the protesting farmers who have been staging protests at Delhiborders for over 250 days against the three contentious farm laws enacted bythe central government, Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu on Fridaysaid the real issue was theirs and not his fights.
Sidhuwho shared the stage with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh after a long break, beganhis new innings by mimicking his cricketer style (hitting a sixer shot) andthen first extended an olive branch to the protesting doctors, nurses, teachersand bus conductors, who have been on roads for their demands.
Highlights from Sidhu’sspeech:
Sidhusaid “My fights are not the issue, the farmers sitting in Delhi, the protestingTET qualified teachers, the problems of doctors and nurses and bus conductorsare the real issues”.
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Reiteratinghis commitment to provide the electricity to the consumers in the state at thehighly subsidized rates, Sidhu, donning his trademark maroon Pathani suit witha scarf, asked his government that why the electricity was being purchased forRs 12 per unit.
Sidhuthen addressed about costly power purchase pacts signed by the previous SAD-BJPgovernment and still continuing in the Congress government. "Choran dichori pakdi jaani chahidi ae (the thieves would be put behind the bars),"he said.
Sidhusaid there have been all sorts of speculations about him, but "positionsare not the issue". "Today every Congress worker has become thepresident, no difference between leader and workers," he said.
Highlights from CaptAmarinder Singh’s speech:
Rememberinghis ties with Sidhu's family, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in his speech saidthey would work together for the state.
"Iwas commissioned in the Army, the year Sidhu was born. When my mother asked meto enter politics, his (Sidhu) father helped me. I used to go to his house whenhe was about six years old," said Amarinder Singh.
Endingspeculations of differences between him and Sidhu, Amarinder Singh said,"We (Sidhu and Amarinder Singh) will work together for Punjab. Not justfor Punjab, but for India. We share a long border with Pakistan...Pakistan,China and now with America's departure, Taliban in Afghanistan, all of them aregoing to come and sit at Kashmir's border, Punjab's border," the ChiefMinister said.
Accordingto a video from the event, Sidhu greeted Amarinder Singh with folded hands andbroke the ice by saying: "How are you, sir? Such a pleasure."
AmarinderSingh had invited all Congress MLAs and MPs for breakfast an hour before thenew team to take charge, comprising four working presidents -- Kuljit SinghNagra, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, and Pawan Goel.