Punjab Congress chief Warring extends support to Sidhu but says he respects SC verdict

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and senior leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday extended support to Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying while they respect the Supreme Court verdict they stand by their party colleague and his family.

Chandigarh: Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and senior leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday extended support to Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying while they respect the Supreme Court verdict they stand by their party colleague and his family. Former Punjab Congress chief Sidhu was on Thursday sentenced to one-year in jail by the Supreme Court in a 1988 road rage case. On Friday, he approached the apex court seeking a few weeks to surrender to "organise his medical affairs".

In a tweet, Warring said, "With due respect for the verdict of the Honorable Supreme Court, I stand by my senior colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu Ji and his family at this difficult hour". Bajwa, who is the Leader of the Opposition in Punjab, also took to Twitter to extend support. "The INC (Indian National Congress) bows before the verdict of the Honorable Supreme Court. Furthermore, the Punjab Congress and I will stand firmly behind Navjot Singh Sidhu and his family in this difficult time," he tweeted.

Congress MLA from Kapurthala Rana Gurjeet Singh on Thursday had said the apex court's order has to be respected by everyone and advised Sidhu to do a self-introspection while stressing that the verdict was not a setback for the party. Party legislator and former minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also did not see the verdict as a setback for the Congress and said the victim's family got justice in the matter. Following the drubbing the Congress faced in the five states that went to polls earlier this year, party president Sonia Gandhi had asked the state unit chiefs there to resign. The Congress appointed Warring in place of Sidhu.

PTI