Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu’s adviser Malvinder Singh Mali, who has been at the centre of a storm over his alleged ‘anti-national’ remarks, has resigned today. Notably, AICC leader and party’s Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat has yesterday threatened to sack Mali if Sidhu failed to remove him.
Mali, in a Facebook post, had said that both India and Pakistan have illegally occupied Kashmir. Mali had also raised the issue of revocation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir till 2019. He had reportedly said if Kashmir was a part of India, then what was the need to have Articles 370 and 35A. He also said that Kashmir is a separate country.
Sidhu and Mali had come under sharp criticism not only from the opposition but also from Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. Singh had said that Sidhu’s adviser’s comments were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of Punjab and were misplaced compared to the party’s stand on Kashmir. Singh had urged Sidhu to rein in his advisers before they do more damage to the country’s interests.
Harish Rawat yesterday asked Sidhu to remove his advisors who have continued targeting CM Singh over the past week. Rawat also said that next year’s Punjab Assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of Amarinder Singh. Rawat had also said that there was no threat to the Amarinder Singh-led government in Punjab and the party’s victory prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections. The Congress has 80 MLAs and eight MPs in the state.
Some Congress MLAs have been asking the party high-command to remove Singh and get a new chief minister. Rawat’s remark delivered a snub to the leaders wanting to remove Singh.