A day after Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh seeking action on farmers’ demands including cancellation of unfair cases registered against growers during their agitation against farm laws, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday said rather than acting as if he was in the Opposition, Sidhu should act as a responsible leader of the ruling party.

Terming Sidhu’s latest letter to the CM as a ‘news stunt’, the AAP Punjab senior leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema said Sidhu should now stop playing the “letter game” on the issues of Punjab and the problems of the farmers and should get the issues of Punjab seriously resolved from his government.

He said the Congress state president had been reminded of reforms required in the agriculture sector, getting the farmers out of the crop cycle along with all the other issues as the Assembly elections are due soon.

“If Navjot Singh Sidhu could not come up with any concrete promise or policy from the ruling Congress in his meeting with the farmers’ leaders, then what did he do there?,” he said adding if the AAP leaders could decide to give support on the spot after listening to the views of the farmers during the meeting, why can’t Congress state president Navjot Sidhu do so.

Strongly criticising CM Captain Amarinder Singh, Cheema said, “The CM did not fulfill any of his promises to the farmers, as a result, the farmers have to wage struggle against the Punjab government, like against the Union government to get their demands met.”

He said Sidhu gets publicity in the news by writing a letter to the CM, but the issue of the farmers remains unresolved. Cheema exhorted Sidhu to give up drama and play the role of leader of the ruling party, otherwise, the people of Punjab would never forgive him.

The AAP leader said the CM Amarinder Singh had lost the trust of his MLAs and ministers and there was a rebellion against him within the Congress party.

Former Congress state president Shamsher Singh Dullo and legislator Surjit Singh Dhiman along with young MLAs from Majha were opposing the CM’s working style. “Therefore, Amarinder Singh should immediately resign from the post of Chief Minister,” he added.