Reacting to Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation as Punjab Congress president, state Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, on Tuesday, said he has full confidence and faith in Sidhu.
When asked if Sidhu was upset over the recent cabinet expansion, the chief minister said, "It will be settled if he is upset...though he is not upset with me." Channi also said he has "no information" on the matter of the resignation of Sidhu.
Media reports suggest that the chief minister is expected to meet Sidhu later on Tuesday.
Although the reason for resignation is not immediately known, some reports indicate that he had developed differences of opinion with the CM.
Meanwhile, the AAP, Punjab's main opposition party, claimed that Sidhu resigned from the post as he "could not bear" that a Dalit has been made the chief minister of the state. "This (the resignation) shows that Navjot Singh Sidhu is against Dalits. One poor son was made chief minister. This, Sidhu could not bear. It is very sad," AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said.
Sidhu wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi tendering his resignation as the chief of the Punjab unit but said he will continue to serve the party.
Calling it a "a complete and absolute state of anarchy in Punjab Congress" AAP Punjab co-in-charge Raghav Chadha sought to know "how can the people of Punjab expect these selfish leaders to give a stable, progressive and inclusive administration." "How can these people be trusted with a state which has a 550-km border with Pakistan?" he said in a tweet.
In his resignation letter, Sidhu had written, "The collapse of a man's character stems from the compromise corner, I can never compromise on Punjab’s future and the agenda for the welfare of Punjab. Therefore, I hereby resign as the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Will continue to serve the Congress."
—With PTI inputs