Navjot Singh Sidhu, cricketer turned BJP neta turned Congress politician, now appointed Punjab state chief, might have met a rather different fate in the age of Indira Gandhi. The original Mrs G, who lived by the Queen of Hearts’ dictum, ‘off with his head’, was imperiously intolerant of any show of strength by state leaders. India’s Iron Lady could demand unquestioned loyalty because she was her party’s supreme votecatcher.
But in 2021, unlike in 1970, Congress’s central leadership is fatally weakened. Today a relatively late entrant like Sidhu, a TV celebrity best known for his quirky Hinglish and oddball puns, can openly attack a veteran chief minister and get ‘rewarded’ for his defiance. The Punjab tug of war has shown the Read More
