Punjab minister Razia Sultana quits in 'solidarity' with Sidhu

In her resignation letter to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the minister said, I, Razia Sultana, hereby resign as cabinet minister, Punjab, in solidarity with Navjot Singh Sidhu, PPCC president, and millions of Congress workers across the state. I will continue to work for the party as a worker in the best interest of Punjab.


PTI | Chandigarh | Updated: 28-09-2021 19:30 IST | Created: 28-09-2021 19:30 IST
Punjab minister Razia Sultana quits in 'solidarity' with Sidhu
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Razia Sultana put in her papers as the Punjab Cabinet minister in ''solidarity'' with Navjot Singh Sidhu, who resigned from the post of the state Congress chief on Tuesday.

Sultana is considered close to Sidhu and her husband Mohd Mustafa, a former IPS officer, is a principal strategic adviser to the Congress leader. In her resignation letter to Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, the minister said, ''I, Razia Sultana, hereby resign as cabinet minister, Punjab, in solidarity with Navjot Singh Sidhu, PPCC president, and millions of Congress workers across the state.'' ''I will continue to work for the party as a worker in the best interest of Punjab. My heartfelt thanks to Sonia Gandhiji, hon'ble Congress president, and Rahul Gandhiji for their countless blessings on me and my family in our hours of need,'' she said in her resignation letter.

Mustafa shared the resignation of his wife on his Twitter handle.

''So proud of my wife Razia Sultana for her principled decision to resign in the best interest of Cong and its leadership, in particular Rahul Gandhi our benefactor,'' tweeted Mustafa.

Both Mustafa and Sultana went to Patiala to meet Sidhu at his residence there.

Sidhu on Tuesday resigned as the chief of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, plunging the party into a fresh crisis just months ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

Sidhu quit the post shortly after the allocation of portfolios to members of the new state Cabinet.

In a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he said he will continue to serve the party.

Sidhu had taken over as the state party chief in July amid a bitter power tussle with Amarinder Singh, who stepped down as CM 10 days back while accusing the party high command of humiliating him.

The Charanjit Singh Channi-led government in Punjab on Tuesday allotted portfolios to all ministers in the state, two days after 15 ministers were inducted.

Sultana has been allotted departments of water supply and sanitation, social security, women and child development and printing and stationery.

Earlier, she held the charge of the transport department in the Amarinder Singh-led government.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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