Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Navjot Singh Sidhu will join the Aam Aadmi Party after resigning from the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
"Navjot Singh Sidhu, nominated member, resigns from Rajya Sabha," Gurdeep Singh Sappal, OSD to the Vice President Hamid Ansari said in a tweet. The resignation letter has been addressed to Ansari, who is chairman of the Rajya Sabha, official sources said, adding he is likely to accept the resignation.
Speaking to CNN-News18 after he sent his resignation, the former Rajya Sabha member said, "In the war of right or wrong, you can't afford to be neutral rather than being self-centered. Punjab's interest is paramount."
His wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, a senior BJP leader and a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly, is also likely to have resigned as Chief Parliamentary Secretary Health in Punjab.
Former cricketer "Sixer" Sidhu resigned from the upper house just 80 days after taking oath on April 28, 2016. He was nominated to Rajya Sabha under the distinguished personalities quota.
Sidhu was elected to Lok Sabha from Amritsar twice between 2004 and 2014. He had to give up his seat for senior party leader Arun Jaitley who contested and lost to Capt Amarinder Singh.
The developments hold importance as they come ahead of the assembly polls in 2017.
Reacting to Sidhu's resignation, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said, "We welcome the resignation of Sidhu from Rajya Sabha," adding that his resignation is a "protest" against the ongoing Akali-BJP dispensation in Punjab.
"All right minded people should join this dharam yudh (righteous battle) against corruption," the AAP leader said.
AAP is seen as a contender for power in Punjab.
Comments
0 comment