PUNJAB CM’S LUNCH DIPLOMACY TO REACH OUT TO ‘SULKING’ SIDHU

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday invited former Cabinet minister Navjot Sidhu for lunch on Wednesday.

The meeting gains relevance because the two leaders have often been critical of each other in the past and is being seen in political circles as a bid to bury the hatchet.

Amarinder Singh and Sidhu are expected to discuss state and national politics over the luncheon meeting, the CM’s Media Advisor Raveen Thukral said.

Sidhu has been lying low ever since his resignation from the state Cabinet in July last year.

Political observers told IANS the efforts of Congress’ state in charge Harish Rawat have borne results as he was instrumental in pacifying Sidhu. He had called Sidhu a “national asset” because of his reputation as a crowd puller and hinted at a national role for him in the party.

Both Amarinder Singh and Sidhu shared the stage on November 4 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on the farmers’ issue where all Punjab Congress MLAs and ministers protested against the Union government over the recently-passed farm laws.

Sidhu greeted the Chief Minister before his speech, in which he said that the “Union government wants to suppress the voice of Punjab Chief Minister and MLAs and this will not be allowed”.

The Chief Minister reciprocated the gesture and mentioned Sidhu’s name. Sidhu and Amarinder Singh then attacked the Centre for favouring corporates over the existing system of ‘mandis’.

With IANS inputs