A former member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, was suspended from the Indian National Congress (INC) on Monday after a row over her ‘ ₹500 crore for CM post’ remark.
The official order, shared by state party president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, read, “Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu is hereby suspended from the Primary Membership of the party with immediate effect.”
What exactly happened?
According to PTI, Navjot Kaur Sidhu told reporters on Saturday evening that her husband, Navjot Singh Sidhu, would come back to active politics if the Congress names him as the party's chief ministerial candidate in Punjab.
She added that they do not have money to contribute to any party but can turn Punjab into a “golden state”.
"We always speak for Punjab and Punjabiyat... but do not have ₹500 crore which we can give to sit in chief minister's chair," she told reporters after meeting Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to discuss issues, including the alleged decline in law and order in the state.
When asked if anyone had demanded money from them, she mentioned no one had, but added, “the one who gives a suitcase of ₹500 crore, he becomes the CM.”
After a political controversy arose over her remarks, Navjot Kaur claimed her comments had been misrepresented.
She took to X and said, “I am shocked to see the twist given to a straight comment saying that the Congress never demanded anything from us. Asked about Navjot becoming a chief ministerial face from any other party, I said we have no money to offer for a CM's post.”
BJP, AAP hit out at Congress
AAP Punjab general secretary Baltej Pannu on Sunday stated that they have revealed the "ugly truth" about how the Congress operates, how its leadership is determined, and how Punjab's interests are often neglected in favour of personal ambitions and financial transactions.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh had remarked that Navjot Kaur has exposed the politics of money bags in the Congress by openly claiming that the chief minister's chair in Punjab costs ₹500 crore, which her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu is unable to pay.
In a statement, Chugh said, “When the wife of a senior Congress leader herself admits that the chief minister's position can be purchased through financial deals, it demonstrates a complete moral collapse in the party led by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.”
