Punjab former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday made a sensational claim and revealed that he received a request from none other than Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to reinstate 'his friend' Navjot Singh Sidhu into the Ministers' cabinet. Furthermore, Captain Amarinder Singh stated that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan even asked him to remove Navjot Sidhu from the cabinet if he does not work.
Addressing a press conference to announce his party's alliance with BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) for the upcoming Punjab Elections, on Monday, Captain Amarinder Singh said, "Pakistan PM had sent a request if you can take (Congress Punjab president Navjot Singh) Sidhu into your Cabinet I will be grateful, he is an old friend of mine. You can remove him if he'll not work."
Navjot Singh Sidhu who is currently the President of PPCC was Punjab's tourism minister during Captain Amarinder Singh's regime. However, due to infighting among Singh and Sidhu, Captain Amarinder (them chief minister of Punjab) changed Navjot Sidhu's portfolio. This intensified the infighting among Captain Amarinder and Navjot Sidhu. Finally, Captain Amarinder resigned from the Chief Ministerial post and also left the Congress party over 'humiliation'. Before this, Sidhu was appointed as President of PPCC by the Congress High Command.
It is pertinent to mention here that this is not the first time Captain Amarinder has outlined Sidhu's relationship with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Captain Amarinder had also expressed his displeasure when his pictures giving a bare-hug to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and their Army Chief General Bajwa went viral. In November 2021, during his visit to Kartarpur, the cricketer-turned-politician had dubbed Imran Khan as his 'big brother', and batted for talks to open trade between the two nations.
However, Captain Amarinder's revelations came at a time when the Punjab Elections 2022 is a few days away.