Govt had no other legal option in Navjot Singh Sidhu case: Punjab CM

CHANDIGARH: A day after Punjab opposed the acquittal plea of its minister Navjot Singh Sidhu in the Supreme Court in the 1998 road rage case, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday defended the state government’s stand.
In an official press release, Amarinder made it clear that the state had taken the only legal option available before it, and went on to express the hope that the judge would take into account the minister’s contribution to society and the country in his final verdict.

Earlier in the day when Sidhu was asked in Hyderabad about Punjab’s stance, he had said that Amarinder should answer why the government had asked the Supreme Court to uphold the conviction against him in a road rage case in Patiala 30 years ago.

In the case involving Sidhu, in which one person died, the lower court had acquitted him but the Punjab and Haryana high court had reversed the verdict and given him three years imprisonment. Sidhu had got bail in the case and filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The Punjab CM pointed out that the state could not have taken any other stand in the apex court other than that taken during the trial and in the Punjab and Haryana high court.

‘He goes out of his way to help people’

Amarinder said, “Had we done so, we would have been accused of lying either now or earlier." He added that he did not believe in playing politics in judicial cases. He said he had known Sidhu since he was a child, and found him to be totally above board and a person who went out of the way to help people in need. The CM also rubbished charges of not liking the minister and stressed that had always personally supported Sidhu and Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar.

Speaking to TOI in Hyderabad, Sidhu said he had “utmost respect for the judiciary”. When asked if he dreaded the prospect of being jailed, Sidhu said: “I’m not someone who gets scared. I’m also not one who is moved by situations. I have a strong will and am a balanced person.”

Sidhu said all he was interested in doing was bringing about a change in public life and cleansing the political system.

“Politics should not be selfcentric. For me politics is a passion. It gives me the opportunity to serve the people,” he said.