Sidhu attacks BJP for trying to oust him from Punjab

Ex-cricketer evades questions on joining AAP

Breaking silence, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu attacked the BJP on Monday, saying that he resigned from the Rajya Sabha as the party wanted him to stay away from his home state of Punjab.

Sidhu, however, evaded queries on whether he would quit the BJP or join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls in Punjab.

He merely stated that he was committed to serving Punjab and accused the BJP of dropping him from the Amritsar seat when there was a Modi wave in 2014, but was fielded during tough times since 2004.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar but lost to Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh.

After his press conference, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal stated that Sidhu was kept away from Punjab since he would have spoken against drugs, hinting that he would have taken on the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD)-BJP government.

Sidhu, a former Indian opening batsman, said: “Navjot Singh Sidhu had won four elections, but when there was a wave in favour of Modi sahab, then Sidhu was drowned along with rivals. I was told you cannot fight from Amritsar. You fight from Kurukshetra, you fight from West Delhi. I did not leave my roots then nor did I care about profit and loss.”