New Delhi: Former BJP Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu clarified on Monday why he quit the Rajya Sabha – "I was asked to stay from my state" – but stopped short of spelling out where his political career was taking him next.
Sidhu, who was elected to the Upper House in April, quit his membership last week. The cricketer-turned-politician, who made clear his displeasure with BJP, parried queries on whether he would join Aam Aadmi Party, saying he would be standing wherever the interests of Punjab were served.
In a media meet, Sidhu said today: “I quit the Rajya Sabha because I was asked to stay away from Punjab. I will go wherever I am allowed to serve Punjab,” he said in a possible reference to joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"How could I abandon the people who elected me to represent them four times in ten years?” a visibly upset Sidhu told the media.
Sidhu alleged he was told to keep away from Punjab to "serve selfish interests," indicating that the BJP was acting under its ally Shiromani Akali Dal's pressure as Akalis and Sidhu have had a long spell of hostility.
#WATCH: 'Jab Modi lehar aayi toh virodhi toh doobe hi, Sidhu ko bhi dubo diya' says Navjot Singh Sidhuhttps://t.co/GdnoITA46I
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 25, 2016
"Nothing is more significant than
Targeting the BJP, Sidhu said he delivered the prestigious Amritsar seat to the party during adverse circumstances but was "drowned in the Modi wave" in 2014, when he was asked to shift from the constituency.
Sidhu added he had won several elections for the BJP, but was not allowed to contest from Punjab’s
Sidhu said he refused to contest from any other place because of his concern for the people of
"Duniya ki koi party Punjab se oopar nahi, koi party Punjab se badi nahi (No political party in the world is more important or bigger than Punjab)," he said in his trademark dramatic style.
"Navjot Singh Sidhu ko 100 baar apna parivar, apni party aur Punjab mein se chunna padega, toh 100 baar Punjab ko chununga (I will choose Punjab 100 times if given a choice between my family, my party and Punjab)," said the clearly agitated Sidhu.
The cricketer-turned politician, however, refused to clarify whether he was going to join AAP after his exit from the Rajya Sabha. Sidhu also did not clarify whether he had already quit the BJP or was still a member of the ruling party.
Asked if he wanted to be chief ministerial candidate, he told the media that he always wanted to serve Punjab. "I said I will not fight. I have no wish for any post but I will not break the trust of those who made me an MP from Amritsar and have the highest honour in 21 generations. Now you tell me that I should leave Punjab. Tell me, what is my sin," he said.
Sidhu said he fought in 2004 on the request of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and won the seat with over 1 lakh margin, adding that he won it twice more including in 2009 when he was the only party MP among the 50-51 seats in the plains of north India.
"When storms were blowing, then Navjot Singh Sidhu was sent... Now when there was a wave in support for Modi sahab, I was drowned along with rivals," he said.
Top party leader Arun Jaitley had contested from Amritsar in 2014 but lost to senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh.
The Sikh leader, known for rapid-fire bytes, said he also worked for the victory for his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu from a difficult seat.
Political analysts said Sidhu's "belated" clarification to his resignation was a little thin because the BJP had made him a member of the party's Punjab core committee soon after he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
Akalis are in power in Punjab with the BJP as their junior ally. AAP has emerged as a strong force in the state and Sidhu's departure from the party is seen as a major setback for the saffron party ahead of Assembly election next year.
BJP has maintained that Sidhu has not quit the party yet.
