Navjot Kaur Sidhu has a plan to tackle drug abuse in Punjab
Chandigarh: A day after former Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu announced her entry into the Bharatiya Rashtrawadi Party (BRP), the former legislator said her party would push opium cultivation in Punjab as a solution to the problem of drug abuse. Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Sidhu said the distribution of opium tablets to addicts is the only solution to the problem, adding that it would also generate income for farmers. She said Punjab can also export opium to other countries and earn revenue.
Dr Sidhu had on Tuesday announced joining the BRP, posting a picture with chairman of the party, former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Amlan Biswas, on social media platform X. “Will lead Punjab to achieve its long lost glory of being a Golden State where people just know about the power of love, sharing, justice, right of liberty, freedom and working with a purpose of selfless service and spiritual growth to attain their goal, values and vision without any outside interference,” she wrote in the accompanying text.
The cloud of her suspension from the Congress last year when she had infamously said that only those with Rs 500 crore were considered for the chief minister’s post seemed to still hang over Sidhu as she walked back her words. Explaining that she had been “misquoted” by the press, Sidhu said what she actually meant was that in order to become a chief minister one needs to have that kind of money for election expenditure. “I had categorically said that the Congress party had never asked for a single penny from us. It’s like mediapersons take money but have never asked for it,” she said.
This is the kind of vicious circle that she wants to end, Sidhu declared. “You spend money in elections and later, as minister, you make money. In my party nobody will have to spend any money; the party will help candidates who need financial assistance. We will be asking for donations from Non-Resident Indian Punjabis in order to help our candidates in elections,” she said.
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‘What’s the point?’
Asked about her acrimonious exit from the Congress, Sidhu put up a brave face, saying former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had contacted her to sort the issue out but she had spurned the outreach. Invoking her namesake husband’s experience in the Congress, she said: “What is the point when what we are promised is not what we are given? When Congress came to power (in 2017) Navjot Sidhu was promised the Deputy Chief Minister’s position and seven departments as minister. All he got was one-and-a-half departments, and that ministry too was taken away from him.”
Explanation turned into overture as Sidhu said that she had no acrimony towards the Gandhi family. “Even today Priyanka Gandhi is like my sister. If Rahul Gandhi were to do something good, I would be the first to praise him just as I have praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I cannot forget that I was an absolutely new legislator in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Modi ji put all his faith in me,” she said.
When asked about a post on X in which she had referred to Rahul Gandhi as ‘Pappu’, Sidhu said that statement was made in anger. “I had been trying to get in touch with him for a long time but I was not getting any time to meet him. All I wanted was to bring to his notice what Congress leaders were doing in Punjab but he did not bother to respond and I got extremely upset. In that state of mind, I called him ‘Pappu’,” she said.
She said the BRP was registered in June 2015 and had expanded to all states. “The party was looking for a face in Punjab and after thinking about it for a while, I have decided to lead the party in the state, but with one promise from Mr Biswas that there will be no interference whatsoever. I will be the face of the party but we will have a completely democratic structure to run it,” she said.
Also Read: ‘Rs 500 crore for Punjab CM’s post’: Navjot Kaur Sidhu rakes up controversy with a startling claim
Going solo
Sidhu said that her party will contest all 117 Assembly seats in Punjab in the elections due next year, and that there is no question of any tie-up with any other party.
Sidhu said that her husband, cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, had nothing to do with what she was going ahead with. “I only briefly told him what I am doing and he says that I am up to some drama or the other every day,” she laughed. She made no comment when asked if he would be part of her outfit or campaign ahead of the elections.
She said her namesake husband had no interest in returning to politics. “He is earning almost Rs 15 lakh a day and works four or five days a week. He is the one who is running the household while I can continue my work in politics,” she said. Asked if she would join the BJP, Sidhu said she was not interested.
Listing out her plans for the state, Sidhu said that she is a big votary of Ayurveda and a living example of how it can treat even the most dangerous diseases, including cancer. Sidhu said that if her party comes to power in Punjab, she will focus on ayurvedic healthcare.
Sidhu also said that she will ensure that there are enough veterinary facilities for animals. She pointed out that stray cows in Punjab had a right over the land which was next to the Shivalik foothills, and that there is enough to let every animal graze in the sprawling acres. Sidhu promised to ensure dedicated spaces for stray cattle.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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