Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu supports AAP over Delhi ordinance row

Sidhu said that the Delhi Lieutenant Governor “cannot make the elected representatives their puppets”.

Chandigarh Desk: Former Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu has backed the Congress stand to support the Aam Aadmi Party over the Delhi ordinance row saying that the Lieutenant Governor “cannot make the elected representatives their puppets”. “The lieutenant governor cannot make the elected representatives their puppets. They cannot enslave the democratic system of this country,” Sidhu said.

The Congress leader said that the LG “cannot give instructions to any elected government”. Sidhu's latest statement in support of the AAP over the Delhi ordinance row comes after the Congress top announced its "unequivocal opposition" to the Centre's ordinance on the control of administrative services in Delhi ahead of the July 17 opposition meet in Karnataka capital Bengaluru in which the AAP also participated.

The AAP called the Congress's support "a positive development" while confirming it will attend the July 17 Opposition meeting in Bengaluru. In the run-up to the Bengaluru meet, the AAP had said that it would join the meeting in Bengaluru only if the Congress supported it in opposing the Delhi ordinance in Parliament.

Sidhu's support to the AAP over the Delhi ordinance row comes as a surprise shift in his stance over the issue. It can be recalled that the former Punjab Congress chief had in May ruled out a Congress support for the AAP in opposing the Delhi ordinance. Sidhu had said that there “cannot be an alliance where there are ideological differences”.

Sidhu's statement had comes as the Punjab Congress leadership met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss the support over ordinance to the AAP.