Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisor Malvinder Singh Mali has sparked off a controversy by virtue of posting a controversial sketch of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in which she can be seen standing near a heap of human skulls, holding a gun with a skull hanging on its muzzle.
This comes a week after Mali had posted on Twitter claiming that Kashmir was a separate country and India and Pakistan were illegal occupants and that Captain Amrinder Singh is responsible for creating communal tensions in Punjab.
The recent posts were not well received by the Captain who on Sunday warned Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisors against using ‘atrocious and ill-conceived comments that were potentially dangerous to the peace and stability of the state and the country.
Cautioning, Amarinder Singh also urged Sidhu’s advisors to give advice to the PPCC president and not comment on matters of which they clearly had little or no knowledge, and had no understanding of the implications, India today reported.
The Sketch which served as the cover page of the June 1989 issue of a Punjabi magazine titled ‘Jantak Paigam ( Public Message)’ comes with a tagline ‘Every repression is defeated’ and was posted by Mali on his Facebook page, therefore, raising eyebrows.
The timing of the post was severely criticized by many opposition parties. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh was of the opinion that Mali’s post has exposed the ‘Congress’s heinous game plan during the eighties’.
“The cat is out of the bag after PCC President Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisor Malvinder Singh Mali put up a Facebook post showing former prime minister Indira Gandhi with a gun indicating how the Sikhs were targeted in 1984,” Tarun Chugh was quoted saying in a report by India Today.
He also questioned if the post was uploaded by Mali upon the insistence of Sidhu.
Sidhu was made Punjab Congress chief on July 23 despite strong opposition from the chief minister against the backdrop of a long-running skirmish that has imperilled the party’s re-election bid in the state next year.
Completing his dominance over party affairs, newly appointed Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday appointed MLA and known Captain Amarinder Singh baiter Pargat Singh as general secretary.
An official release issued by Sidhu said that with the approval of interim party president Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Punjab affairs incharge Harish Rawat, the Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat has been appointed as general secretary (organisation).
The entire top brass of Punjab Congress is now occupied by leaders close to Sidhu. Sources said that next on the agenda for the state party chief is the appointment of district-level coordinators and presidents of district units, besides other office-bearers. Insiders say that even in these appointments, Sidhu could have a large say as he has sent a proposal for approval to the party high command.
Sources said that apart from restructuring, Sidhu would also try to have a major say in the allotment of tickets in the 2022 assembly elections. Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, though, during a recent meeting with Sonia Gandhi had emphasised that a consensus approach should be adopted while restructuring the party and for allotment of tickets.
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