Sidhu a 'political mercenary', divided Congress, says Punjab minister Rana Gurjeet Singh

In a no-holds-barred attack, Punjab minister Rana Gurjeet Singh on Sunday called state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu a "political mercenary" and alleged that he has divided the party. The minister also accused Sidhu of questioning the loyalty of the "true and traditional Congressmen" and said he joined the party just to become the chief minister.

"But sooner you leave better it will be for the party as you have divided and damaged the party from within as if you were pursuing some hidden agenda of your real political masters who are still pulling your strings," Rana said in a statement.

"You are just like a mercenary having joined the party just with the sole purpose of becoming the chief minister, while I have been in the party right from my birth," the minister said, calling himself a "born Congressman".

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Sidhu had joined the Congress after quitting the BJP ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls. The minister said Sidhu is just a "political mercenary bereft of any principles or ideology".

"It is an irony that someone who is basically a political party hopper and has not even spent five years in the party, is preaching and pontificating to people like us who have spent an entire lifetime in the service of the party," he said.

Rana said keeping in mind Sidhu's "unstable and eccentric behaviour", nobody is sure whether he would stay in the Congress or quit the party before the Assembly polls.

The senior Congress leader also questioned intentions of Sidhu in opposing his own government and the CM, saying he has now been "exposed".

"You have been openly criticising our chief minister as you have started feeling jealous and insecure about his popularity among the masses," Rana said.

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"As party president, your key responsibility is to keep the party united but you did not leave any stone unturned to create fissures in the campaign committee, manifesto committee and screening committee, which were constituted by the party high command," said Rana.

The minister’s statement came a day after the Punjab Congress chief in a dig at a rally suggested that it is the "end of road for Rajas and Ranas".

Sidhu had also backed the candidature of MLA Navtej Singh Cheema from Sultanpur Lodhi, a seat Rana's son Rana Inder Partap Singh is eyeing to contest from.

Earlier this year, Sidhu had become the state Congress chief amid a power tussle with Amarinder Singh, who had quit the party following his unceremonious exit as the chief minister.

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