CHANDIGARH: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Navjot Singh Sidhu is trapped in an unsavoury political controversy after two of his advisors issued controversial statements over Kashmir and Taliban. The views expressed by advisors are contrary to offical stand of Congress party.
The statements issued by two advisors Malwinder Singh Mali and Dr. Pyare Lal Gupta have annoyed the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh who in a hard hitting statement yesterday reprimanded the two advisor to stick to their role of advising the PPCC president. He described statements by advisors as anti-national and unbearable.
Senior party leaders Manish Tiwari MP and Raj Kumar Verka MLA today joined the issue and told Navjot Sidhu to remove his advisors who are working against the interests of Congress party. Manish Tiwari has sought the intervention of party high command. Verka said that Kashmir is an integral part of India and this is the official stand of Congress party. He said that Sidhu's advisors were praising the terrorists and Talibans which cant be tolerated. He said that Navjot Sidhu himself was a nationalist and statements of his advisors were not in national interest.
The appointment of Malwinder Singh Mali as advisor of Sidhu had created lot of flutter in political circles. A former sympathiser of Naxalites, Mali was general secretary of Punjab Students Union (PSU) before he joined team of former SGPC president Gurcharan Singh Tohra as his aide. In the meantime he was appointed teacher in Punjab Eduction Department and worked in the PR team of former Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh in the last term. He is known for abusive posts on social media.
Mali had also rebutted Capt Amarinder Singh in sharp worded post on social media and even commented about private life of Chief Minister. He questioned CM over his failure of fulfilling poll promises.
Sidhu is under pressure from party leaders to remove his advisors immediately. The matter is also in the notice of party high command. Sidhu has reportedly called his advisors for a meeting today.