Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress on Monday suspended Navjot Kaur Sidhu from its primary membership after her “Rs 500 crore for chief minister’s chair” remark sparked a political row.
Reacting to her suspension, Kaur launched an offensive against Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, alleging, “I refuse to stand with an insensitive and irresponsible, morally dishonest and corrupt president.”
She said on X, “I stand up for all my brothers and sisters who have been hurt by his incompetence and irresponsible behaviour. I refuse to accept him as the President. I wonder why CM is shielding him.”
“We always speak for Punjab and Punjabiyat… but do not have ₹500 crore which we can give to sit in the chief minister’s chair,” she told reporters after meeting Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to discuss issues, including the alleged decline in law and order in the state.
When asked if anyone had demanded money from them, she mentioned no one had, but added, “The one who gives a suitcase of ₹500 crore, he becomes the CM.”
After a political controversy arose over her remarks, Navjot Kaur claimed her comments had been misrepresented.
She took to X and said, “I am shocked to see the twist given to a straight comment saying that the Congress never demanded anything from us. Asked about Navjot becoming a chief ministerial face from any other party, I said we have no money to offer for a CM’s post.”
AAP Punjabgeneral secretary Baltej Pannu on Sunday stated that they have revealed the “ugly truth” about how the Congress operates, how its leadership is determined, and how Punjab’s interests are often neglected in favour of personal ambitions and financial transactions.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh had remarked that Navjot Kaur has exposed the politics of money bags in the Congress by openly claiming that the chief minister’s chair in Punjab costs ₹500 crore, which her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu is unable to pay.
In a statement, Chugh said, “When the wife of a senior Congress leader herself admits that the chief minister’s position can be purchased through financial deals, it demonstrates a complete moral collapse in the party led by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.”
