AGENCY
Patiala: After remaining behind bars for 317 days at a jail in his hometown Patiala in a 1988 road rage case, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who lost more than 30 kg weight during the sentence, on Saturday evening walked out of the jail and slammed both the state AAP government and the Central
BJP government.
Donning black turban and a Pathani suit with a blue jacket, former Punjab Congress chief Sidhu, who was released prematurely with a remission of 45 days in his prison term, said he was told that he would be
released by 11.45 a.m. He got a rousing reception by his supporters, who had been desperately awaiting hisrelease since morning.
Chanting “Navjot Sidhu zindabad”, party senior leaders comprising Amritsar Congress MP Gurjeet Aujla and former MLAs Ashwani Sekhri, Sukhwinder Danny and Sunil Dutti were present among hundreds of fans and sympathisers. “My release was deliberately delayed,” the cricketer-turned-politician, who is hitting the spotlight with a splash of colours, told the media outside the jail. He was released at around 5.51 p.m.
“No government can get stronger by weakening Punjab,” said Sidhu, indirectly hitting the BJP-led Central
government. “Whenever a dictatorship came to this country a revolution has also come and this time, the name of that revolution is Rahul Gandhi. He will rattle the government.”
Sidhu said there “was no democracy in Punjab and that a conspiracy is being hatched to bring President’s Rule in the state.” He said minorities were being targeted in the state.
