News agency ANI reported that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi today, with talks for cabinet reshuffle on the cards. Singh's arch-nemesis, and now Punjab Congress head, Navjot Sidhu has been pushing for an important position. The tension between Amarinder Singh and Sidhu had come out in the open in May 2019 when the CM blamed him for the "inept handling" of the Local Government Department, claiming it had resulted in the "poor performance" of the Congress in urban areas in the Lok Sabha polls. Sidhu was later stripped of this portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle, after which he resigned.
Unabated tensions with the now-resurgent Sidhu could also figure in the meeting. Eventhough the duo had publicly met and claimed to have buried the hatchet, rivalry still simmers beneath the surface. In a tweet today, Sidhu has once again taken on the Amarinder administration over inaction on a drug trafficking case with accused SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia. "In February 2018, STF headed by ADGP Harpreet Sidhu filed “status report” in Punjab and Haryana High Court, investigating statements and evidence recorded by ED that were submitted before Hon’ble Court in case of Bikramjit Singh Majithia and others involvement in drug trafficking," he wrote. "What investigation had Punjab Police done? What action had Punjab govt taken? Must be brought into public domain. Since submission of reports, what further action did the state take in 2.5 years? Government must make itself accountable to the public with complete transparency," he tweeted.
