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  India   Quit RS because I was asked to stay away from Punjab: Navjot Sidhu

Quit RS because I was asked to stay away from Punjab: Navjot Sidhu

AGE CORRESPONDENT
Published : Jul 25, 2016, 2:26 pm IST
Updated : Jul 25, 2016, 2:26 pm IST

The cricketer-turned politician however refused to clarify whether he was going to join AAP after his exit.

 Sidhu resigned from Rajya Sabha amid speculation that he could join the Aam Aadmi Party. (Photo: AFP)
  Sidhu resigned from Rajya Sabha amid speculation that he could join the Aam Aadmi Party. (Photo: AFP)

The cricketer-turned politician however refused to clarify whether he was going to join AAP after his exit.

Former BJP Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu clarified on Monday why he quit the Rajya Sabha – "I was asked to stay from my state" – but stopped short of spelling out where his political career was taking him next.

Sidhu, who was elected to the Upper House in April, quit his membership last week.

In a media meet, Sidhu said today: “I quit the Rajya Sabha because I was asked to stay away from Punjab. I will go wherever I am allowed to serve Punjab,” he said in a possible reference to joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"How could I abandon the people who elected me to represent them four times in ten years ” a visibly upset Sidhu told the media.

"Nothing is more significant than Punjab to me. There will be more people apart from me (to work for BJP outside Punjab). Even a bird comes back to its nest, how can Navjot Sidhu leave his home, his people " he claimed.

Sidhu added he had won several elections for the BJP, but was not allowed to contest from Punjab’s Amritsar during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Instead he was asked to contest from Kurukshetra, then West Delhi, which he refused.

Sidhu said he refused to contest from any other place because of his concern for the people of Punjab.

"Duniya ki koi party Punjab se oopar nahi, koi party Punjab se badi nahi (No political party in the world is more important or bigger than Punjab)," he said in his trademark dramatic style.

"Navjot Singh Sidhu ko 100 baar apna parivar, apni party aur Punjab mein se chunna padega, toh 100 baar Punjab ko chununga (I will choose Punjab 100 times if given a choice between my family, my party and Punjab)," said the clearly agitated Sidhu.

The cricketer-turned politician, however, refused to clarify whether he was going to join AAP after his exit from the Rajya Sabha. Sidhu also did not clarify whether he had already quit the BJP or was still a member of the ruling party.

Political analysts said Sidhu's "belated" clarification to his resignation was a little thin because the BJP had made him a member of the party's Punjab core committee soon after he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi