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Sidhus put up brave face as Congress denies Deputy CM’s post

All eyes were on Navjot Singh Sidhu at the swear-in-ceremony of Congress government as he was speculated to get the…

Sidhus put up brave face as Congress denies Deputy CM’s post

Navjot Singh Sidhu (Photo: Pardeep Saini)

All eyes were on Navjot Singh Sidhu at the swear-in-ceremony of Congress government as he was speculated to get the deputy chief minister's (Dy CM) post. But instead of the deputy CM's post, the cricketer-turned-politician was sworn-in as a Cabinet minister.

While Sidhu, who appeared to have accepted the Congress high command's decision for giving him only the Cabinet berth, declined to comment if he was denied the Deputy CM's post.

His wife and former BJP legislator Navjot Kaur, however, said that they had never asked for the same. The Sidhu couple quit the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to join the Congress ahead of Assembly elections and was elected to the assembly from Amritsar (east) constituency which was represented by Kaur in the previous Assembly.

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"I am not aware if there was a suggestion to give him (Sidhu) deputy chief minister's post. From the very beginning, we have made it clear that both of us joined the Congress without any condition," she said.

Sidhu, who had left the BJP last year apparently to join the Aam Aadmi Party but decided against it after the AAP leadership refused to name him as a party's CM candidate.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal later claimed that Sidhu wanted to be the CM candidate, but was offered Deputy CM post by the party.

Sidhu, however, claims that AAP only wanted to use him as star campaigner and offered minister's berth to his wife while he wanted to play a big role in transforming Punjab from the misrule of the Parkash Singh Badal government.

When asked if the Cabinet berth was the 'big-role' that Sidhu intended to play in Punjab as he has been claiming after joining the Congress, Kaur said being a Cabinet minister was a big role in it.

Dismissing the suggestion that Sidhu was not given Deputy CM's post as the Congress didn't want to create two power centers (CM and Deputy CM) in the government, Kaur said her husband didn't believe in the brand of politics.

"Sidhu doesn't believe in becoming a power center. This is why he suffered in the past (read while in BJP) because he doesn't believe in groupism. That's why had bad experience in the past," she said.

On asked what could be his husband's priority, Kaur said of industries in Punjab was a big issue.

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