‘Alliance cannot be formed in case of ideological differences’: Navjot Singh Sidhu
“An alliance cannot be formed if there are ideological differences,” Sidhu said.
Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has cautioned his party against allying with the Aam Aadmi Party for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, declaring he '(would) not compromise on moral values' and that any deal is impossible given 'ideological differences' between the two parties. "Moral values are at the lowest today… democratic values have been dismantled. An alliance cannot be formed if there are ideological differences," the ex-cricketer said.
Sidhu's statement comes amid reports that parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party are prepping for a critical meeting in Patna on June 12, at which strategies to combat prime minister Narendra Modi's bid for a third term in power are to be discussed.
That the rumoured meeting is to be held in Bihar is significant, given chief minister Nitish Kumar has been reaching out to major opposition leaders over the past weeks after a 'historic' meet with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and ex-MP Rahul Gandhi.
Sidhu - a flamboyant and controversial figure - was released from jail (when) in connection with the 1988 road rage case.
The former cricketer's sharp comments come as the AAP seeks the Congress' help in defeating in the Rajya Sabha the centre's ordinance on control of bureaucrats posted to the national capital. AAP boss and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has already won support from several major opposition outfits, including Congress allies Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena faction headed by ex-Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Support has also been won from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Nitish Kumar.
Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab, though, have cautioned their party against backing the AAP - either in its fight against the ordinance or in the 2024 election.
Last month the AAP called Sidhu a 'stuntman'. "Sidhu has always been a loquacious person and he will remain the same. An elderly person had lost his life because of him, rather than giving statements, he should introspect about that," the AAP's Malwinder Singh Kang said.
(With ANI inputs)
