Kejriwal told me not to contest polls, Sidhu raises Awaaz

Chandigarh : Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who recently floated the fourth front, Awaaz-e-Punjab, here on Thursday alleged that Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal during their recent meeting had categorically told him not to contest the Punjab polls and only campaign for the party; and in lieu of that his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu was promised a ministerial berth in the state government.Addressing a press conference at the Press Club here, Sidhu took on the Shiromani Akali Dal, Congress and AAP. He said the Awaaz-e-Punjab is a forum for resurrecting Punjab. He claimed that all well-meaning people were used as decoration pieces by mainstream political parties; and that people had no option but to look for the lesser evil at the hustings.He was flanked by former SAD leader Pargat Singh and the Bains brothers, Balwinder Singh Bains and Simarjit Singh Bains.The four-time Amritsar MP claimed that the front is not a political party, but a forum for honest people and that they would announce their next move in a fortnight.Criticising both the Congress and SAD, he said people had seen five years of Captain’s rule and 10 years of the “danda tantar” (rule of the stick).
Sidhu said their aim is that Punjab, Punjabiyat and Punjabis should win. He said it was time the clouds (Badals) over Punjab dispersed and the sun rose in the state.
Taking on the Akalis, he claimed that Master Tara Singh’s party had been reduced to a private enterprise. He said the Akalis wanted him to leave Amritsar and Punjab, which he was averse to. He accused the SAD and Congress of playing a friendly match.
Sidhu, who claimed that his leaving the Rajya Sabha had nothing to do with Kejriwal, said he left the Upper House membership as they (the BJP) wanted him to campaign for Badal who, he claimed, was blinded by the love for his son. He said he listened to his conscience and decided to leave.