Amritsar, February 21
With voters sealing the fate of candidates, PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu today maintained he always wanted people of Punjab to make him instrumental in bringing change to their lives.
Talking to The Tribune about his plans ahead, Sidhu said though he won’t comment on people’s mandate, he was committed to making Punjab a welfare state “till my last breath”. “Come what may, my fight against the corrupt and mafia raj will continue. Personally, I have lived my life to the full. My next innings is dedicated to transforming Punjab. I breathe for Punjab and die for Punjab,” he said.
On his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s recent statement that she would choose to go back to her medical profession if things didn’t work out for them in the political arena, he said: “What my wife said was correct. We also have to run the family. She could go back to practise medicine, but I chose Punjab over the entertainment industry worth crores. I can never leave Punjab in the lurch,” he said.
Sidhu said his ‘Punjab model’, which was the foundation of the 13-point Congress manifesto, was conceptualised to ensure state’s progress. Only the Congress had an agenda to avert the mafias and establish a governance that had a moral authority, he asserted. Sidhu said as the PCC president, he would be duty-bound to take all colleagues together and get it implemented. “Voting for the AAP or Akalis is a retrograde step. Voting for ‘change’ in the system that has eaten up the vitals of Punjab is a step forward. This revolution could come only if you have a roadmap to follow. And, the Congress has come up ‘unitedly’ with a vision that would pay dividends,” he maintained.
Giving a glimpse of the Congress’ agenda, he said the day their government was formed, it would sign on the order for providing 1 lakh jobs per year to put a cap on brain drain under the urban employment guarantee mission.
