Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 23

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as PCC chief was an attempt by the Congress to divert public attention from its failures.

Addressing a press conference here, ex-Minister Daljit Singh Cheema asked Sidhu to give a definite timeline for fulfilling the promises made to the people instead of resorting to empty talk.

The SAD also condemned outgoing PCC president Sunil Jakhar for stating that the road to re-election for the Congress ran through Bargari and Behbal Kalan, the places associated with sacrilege incidents. Cheema said there could not be stronger proof of the party’s contention that the Congress had played politics on the issue in association with the AAP in 2017. The Congress was again going on the same dangerous path on the eve of the 2022 Assembly election, Cheema said.

He said both Sidhu and CM Capt Amarinder Singh were guilty of deceiving people. “It is now becoming increasingly clear that their quarrel was stage-managed to divert people’s attention. “Sidhu has a personal responsibility to tell how he will now ensure justice in the 2018 train tragedy in which his close confidant is guilty,” he added.