Apparently keeping aside all differences, newly-appointed Punjab PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday met Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at the former's inaugural event at Punjab Congress Bhawan on Friday. Photos of the two having tea together were released to the media soon after the tea party commenced on Friday. The event will also see the installation of the new Congress committee in Punjab.
Cricketer-turned-politician Sidhu was appointed the Punjab PCC president on Sunday by national president Sonia Gandhi. He takes over from senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar. Four working presidents, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Pawan Goel and Kuljit Singh Nagra, were also appointed to assist Sidhu in the run-up to the next assembly elections.
Meanwhile, three Congress workers, who were on the way to Sidhu's inauguration, have reportedly died in a bus accident in Punjab's Moga district, Amarinder Singh tweeted. "Saddened to learn of the bus accident in Moga dist in which three Congress workers have reportedly died and many persons are injured. Have directed DC Moga to immediately provide full medical treatment to all the injured and to send a report to the government," Singh said.
Interestingly, Sidhu was at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh for the past some time, with the Amritsar (East) MLA recently attacking the CM over the desecration cases.
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The chief minister was also averse to his appointment as the state Congress chief. After Sidhu's elevation, the CM had said that he won’t meet him until the cricketer-turned-politician apologises for his "derogatory" tweets against him.
On Wednesday, in what was seen as a show of strength, nearly 60 Congress MLAs gathered at the residence of Sidhu in Amritsar, amid suspense over a possible truce between him and CM Amarinder Singh. The Congress has 80 MLAs in the state assembly.
Before going to Amritsar, Sidhu had been calling on ministers and legislators in Chandigarh to mobilise support in the past few days. Sidhu had already met several ministers and MLAs.
