Navjot Sidhu assumes office, promises to do Captain’s bidding

Chandigarh : Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday assumed office of the Minister for Local Bodies, putting the controversy over the post of deputy chief minister to rest.
Addressing his first press conference here, the former cricketer said, “The Captain is like my father. I will take up any role assigned to me. I am happy with anything Captain saab deems fit for me. I have come here to serve Punjab, and not for any personal benefits.”
Sidhu arrived in his office accompanied by wife Dr Navjot Kaur and party leaders Rana Gurjit, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Kuljit Nagra and Pargat Singh.
When asked as to how he would balance his TV assignments with his ministerial responsibilities, Sidhu said, ‘Janta ki awaaz mein parmatma ki awaaj hai. Jab janta ko koi iteraaz nahin to aapko kyon. I will work in office till 3 pm before taking a flight to Mumbai. I will shoot till 3 am and be back in Chandigarh before you people are out of bed. Had people objected to my TV assignments, they would not have elected me by a big margin of 43,000 votes.”
Sidhu said, “I am just a soldier in the Captain’s army. There were rumours about the posts the Congress would offer me. I am above all this. The BJP had offered me to contest for Parliament from Kurukshetra, Chandigarh or West Delhi. Later, I was accommodated in the Rajya Sabha, but my heart lies in Punjab.”
He said he had given Rs 2 crore from his own pocket to the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner to plant saplings. “I have won six elections in the past 12 years. I dared to call the Badals corrupt.”
Sidhu said, “If the Captain had asked me to be just an MLA, I would have gladly done that. The Aam Aadmi Party had offered me a lucrative post. AAP thought it could win just by trolling on social media. The Congress is a tried and tested party. My father was an advocate general associated with the party for 26 years.”
The former Amritsar MP said, “The local bodies department has a lot of potential for public welfare; however, selfish interests have not allowed it to be achieved. It won’t happen now.” Talking about vendetta politics, he said, “Two wrongs do not make a right. We have to rise above vendetta politics and serve people to the best of our capabilities. Law will take care of the corrupt.”
Sidhu praised Pargat Singh saying “he has character”.  He also slammed former deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and former revenue minister Bikram Majithia.