CHANDIGARH: Proving his conviction to the Congress party, Punjab Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu messaged party president Rahul Gandhi saying, “I am now at the disposal of the party 24/7. My life is yours.” The text came after his acquittal in the 1988 road rage case. He first met Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and then left for Delhi to meet Gandhi. “I received messages from Congress president Rahul Gandhi and chief minister Amarinder Singh. Besides, Priyanka Gandhi too conveyed her wishes. I was overwhelmed. I replied to Rahul, saying that I am not at the disposal of the party 24/7,” Sidhu said.
The minister received a message from Rahul just minutes after the judgement, followed by calls from Amarinder and other political leaders, many of whom have been making a beeline to meet him at his official residence. Sidhu met his lawyer RS Cheema before leaving for Delhi, and said he would meet the Delhi leaders and thank them for their support. When asked about detractors within Congress, besides the opposition, he said, “I will not point fingers. In politics, there is always the difficulty of being good. When you are good, mediocre people gang up and try to put you down. But you have to focus on your own work. I have faced similar opposition in the past as well. It's a victory for people who wished me well. The Almighty has listened to them. Prayer has great strength and I bow down to those people,” he said.
Regarding Punjab Congress government's stand in the Supreme Court in the case of culpable homicide against him, Sidhu said after the verdict, all these things did not matter. Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar met Sidhu and later accompanied him to meet Amarinder. Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, Parminder Singh Pinki, and Gukirat Singh Kotli met Sidhu.
Sidhu said he was not nervous ahead of the verdict in the road rage case. “I had a sound sleep, got up and meditated. I played with my dogs for almost an hour.” He denied having any hard feelings, saying he had forgiven everyone who criticised him. When asked if he regretted the episode, Sidhu said, “A life was lost, and everybody will regret it. But the court says it was an accident. I had submitted to the majesty of the law and whatever the court says, I abide by it.”
