Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Both former MLAs, Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and former Olympian Pargat Singh formally joined the Congress in Delhi on Monday in the presence of state party chief Capt Amarinder Singh and state in charge Asha Kumari.

Replying to a question on the possibility of her husband Navjot Singh Sidhu also joining the Congress, Dr Navjot Kaur said she could not say anything about it at this juncture, but added, in a lighter vein, that she and her husband “are one soul and two bodies….and how long can soul stay without the body?”

Sidhu made it clear that she had joined the party without any conditions and would fulfil whatever responsibility she is assigned by the party.

Kaur hails from Patiala and was elected to the state legislative assembly from Amritsar East constituency in 2012 on a BJP ticket. She quit the party in October.

Pargat Singh, who had won the 2012 Assembly elections from Jalandhar (Cantt) on Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ticket, quit the party in September this year accusing party leader and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal of betraying the trust of the people of the State. Along with ex-cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, he had formed Awaaz-e-Punjab – a new political front. However, he resigned as the MLA over the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue on November 16.

Capt Amarinder warned that the SYL issue had the potential of escalating into an explosive situation, which could even trigger the revival of terrorism in Punjab.

Warning that the entire belt from Sardulgarh to Abhor would go dry if the Supreme Court verdict on SYL is implemented, he said any move to deprive the people of the state of the much-needed river water could lead to the outbreak of violence, culminating in disastrous consequences for Punjab.

Pointing out that the earlier outbreak of terrorist violence in Punjab had arisen from the Anandpur Sahib resolution, with water the main issue of dispute, Amarinder said 35,000 people were killed earlier. Punjab, he said, could not afford a recurrence of such a situation.

Amarinder reiterated that the Supreme Court should have first assessed the quantum of water available with Punjab before coming out with its verdict, and stressed that Haryana had no riparian right to water from Sutlej or Ravi rivers. He noted that Punjab had never staked claim to Yamuna river water, which it could easily have done.