Punjab Congress suspends Navjot Kaur Sidhu for 'Rs 500 crore for CM post' comment

The Punjab Congress on Monday (December 8) suspended Navjot Kaur Sidhu from its primary membership following her controversial 'Rs 500 crore for CM's post' remarks.

Earlier, she had demanded that the party announce her husband, Navjot Singh Sidhu, a former Indian cricketer and former Punjab Congress president, as the CM face, noting that the Sidhus did not have Rs 500 crore for the CM chair. The comment sparked a political row in the state, attracting reactions from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP and Congress.

Targets Warring

Reacting to her suspension, she said she refused to stand with “an insensitive and irresponsible, morally dishonest and corrupt” Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Kaur further questioned why Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was trying to protect him.

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She said, “I refuse to accept him as the President,” and accused Warring of splitting the Congress “into pieces” and ingratiating himself with the Chief Minister to evade arrest in several cases.

In an X post, she wrote, “You and your team were just bothered about destroying Navjot Sidhu, who was your mentor and took a stand to make you a minister. And you only focused on fighting with Navjot’s supporters and belittling them.” She alleged that Warring’s controversial comments led the party to lose the Tarn Taran bypolls and demanded his resignation.

Sidhu's suspension

Earlier, Warring issued an order stating: “Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu is hereby suspended from the primary membership of the party with immediate effect.” The action was taken following her remarks: “One who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore becomes the CM.”

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On Monday, before the party took action, Kaur alleged that Congress candidate for the Tarn Taran bypoll, Karanbir Singh Burj, had given Rs 10 crore to two Punjab Congress leaders in exchange for the party ticket. Burj denied the allegations, asking her to provide evidence.

He emphasised that he had never paid money for the ticket, nor had he been asked for any.

CM Candidacy

On Saturday evening, Kaur said her husband, Navjot Singh Sidhu, would return to active politics if the Congress declared him the party’s CM face in Punjab. She said the couple did not have money to give to any party but claimed they could transform Punjab into a “golden state.”

“We always speak for Punjab and Punjabiyat… but we do not have Rs 500 crore that we can give to sit in the chief minister’s chair,” she told reporters.

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Asked if anybody had demanded money from them, she responded, “One who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore becomes the CM.” However, after a political row erupted over her remarks, Kaur claimed that her straightforward comment had been twisted.

Political reactions

Reacting to Kaur’s statement, former Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Vaid said she should not try to mislead people, questioning whether Sidhu had paid the party anything when he was made a minister in the previous Congress government.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Kaur was punished for “speaking the truth” and exposing corruption within the Congress party.

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Earlier in the day, Congress MP Sukhjinder Randhawa, a former deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, said the Congress faced a threat from no one but its own people.

“It is unfortunate that Kaur has made such a statement. Navjot Sidhu joined the Congress from the BJP, and he was made a minister,” he added.

(With agency inputs)