Pakistani ‘acquaintance’ wanted Sidhu reinstated: Capt Amarinder

NEW DELHI: Leading the NDA charge against Congress in Punjab, former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday made a sensational claim that an acquaintance in Pakistan had approached him on behalf of Prime Minister Imran Khan for re-appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu whom he had sacked from his cabinet for “inefficiency and incompetence”.
Sidhu is currently Congress’s Punjab unit chief and contender for the party’s chief ministerial candidate.
“I got a message from somebody from Pakistan both I and Sidhu know. I was told that Sidhu’s reinstatement will make Pakistan happy as he is a close friend of the Pak prime minister, and if he doesn’t work you can sack him,” the former CM, who has been at loggerheads with the Punjab Congress chief, said at a press conference held at BJP headquarters here to announce NDA seat sharing formula for the February 20 polls in the state.
Both Captain Amarinder Singh and BJP president J P Nadda, who announced the seat sharing between NDA partners in Punjab, stressed that a stable Punjab is very important for the security of the nation. BJP is contesting Punjab assembly elections in alliance with Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) led by Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa.
“Anti-nationals are working to derail the development of the country and these elements want disturbance in the border state. This NDA alliance is not just to see a change in regime, but this poll is to secure the future generation and giving stability to the state,” the BJP chief said.
The former CM also highlighted the necessity of the central government’s decision to give special powers to the Border Security Force (BSF) to carry out security related operations up to 50km within the border. He said, during his four-and-half years of tenure as CM, there were innumerable instances of arms dropping using drones in particular border areas.
“For me, it was a formidable task to deal with security. There were drone dropping of drugs and weapons, using tunnel to push arms and ammunitions, including RDX,” Singh added. He said at least 1,000 rifles, 500 pistols and consignments of RDX were dropped using drones up to 30km inside India.
“We found these consignments were dropped at particular points. It was meant to weaponize the state and create unrest,” the former CM, who quit Congress months ahead of the polls, said. It was essential to give BSF search and seizure powers up to 50km within the border, he added.
The former CM said he had told Sidhu, “You are going hugging these people (Pakistani generals) don’t you see how many of our men (soldiers) are being killed every day?”