Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has again courted controversy, this time over a patridge that he gifted to chief minister Amarinder Singh.

The cricketer-turned-politician in his first meeting with the chief minister on his return from Pakistan, a trip that the CM was reportedly not happy about, gifted him a stuffed patridge. This prompted a Ludhiana-based wild life activist to file a complaint with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of government of India.

The complainant, Dr Sandeep K Jain, a Ludhiana-based wildlife activist and Honourary State Animal Welfare Officer (a body of animal welfare board), claimed gifting partridge is a violation of the Wildlife Act.

“I have filed a complaint requesting the welfare board to probe how Sidhu gifted the partridge to the chief minister and how, the protected animal could cross the border and get the customs clearance,” said Jain, who is also a member of national inspection committee of Animal Welfare Board for prevention of cruelty during transportation, slaughter and sacrifice.

Watch | Sidhu’s black partridge from Pakistan is violation of Wildlife Protection Act: WCCB volunteer

Sidhu had received a stuffed black partridge as a gift from a Pakistan-based journalist during his visit to the neighbouring country on the occasion of groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur corridor and the minister gifted it to the chief minister when he visited the latter on Wednesday.

Sidhu went to Pakistan despite Amarinder Singh asking him to reconsider his decision. Later Sidhu called Rahul Gandhi his captain at a press conference in Hyderabad. It sent Amarinder loyalists gunning for Sidhu and the party’s central leadership had to step in to end the controversy by asking both sides to refrain from making public statements.

First Published: Dec 14, 2018 10:15 IST