A day after resigning as the Punjab Congress president, Navjot Singh Sidhu lauded the new Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, saying he would usher in a new anti-mafia era in the state. Mann took oath as the 18th Chief Minister of Punjab on Wednesday at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
Sidhu tweeted, “The happiest man is the one from whom no one expects… Bhagwant Mann has ushered in a new anti-mafia era in Punjab. Hope he lives up to the expectations. By making policies in the interest of the people, we will again take Punjab on the path of reform.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi had asked the chiefs of Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to resign after the party’s humiliating defeat in the assembly elections. Following this, Sidhu on Wednesday resigned from the post of Punjab Congress Committee chief. He remained in this position for eight months.
The Congress high command took this step after the Congress Working Committee meeting on Sunday. The meeting took place after the party’s rout in the recently concluded assembly elections in five states. “As per the wishes of the Congress President, I have sent my resignation,” Sidhu tweeted. After the victory of the Aam Aadmi Party, Sidhu faced criticism when he said that the people of Punjab had taken a good decision and a new foundation had been laid.
Sidhu had said, “This politics was for change. I congratulate the people of Punjab who have taken a very good decision. The traditional system has been changed and a new foundation has been laid. I am saying that they have changed. This mandate should be accepted humbly because the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
AAP registered a resounding victory in the state by winning 92 out of 117 seats in the recently concluded Punjab Assembly elections. After this, Bhagwant Mann took oath as CM on Wednesday. He said that the people of the state have given a historic mandate and his government will work for public-friendly policies. The Chief Minister also assured that the officers and employees would work together for the betterment of the lives of the people.