"Punjab's last chance": Sidhu appeals to Sonia Gandhi

Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu has requested a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhito present a '13 point' agenda regarding governance restructure in Punjab. In the agenda, points such as drugs issues, electricity supply, agriculture reforms and employment issues have been laid out as issues for the party to campaign about and tackle before Assembly polls.

"Punjab for decades was the richest state of the country and today it is the most indebted state of India," reads Sidhu's letter which was posted to Twitter. "Punjab is submerged under Lakhs of crores of Debt due to gross financial mismanagement over last 25 years...It has been supplemented by 7 years of BJP rule discriminating against Punjab while paying its financial dues such as GST payments, Rural Development Fund payments, Post-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes payments etc."

Highlighting the state's lack of resources, Sidhu pointed out that increasing debt overhead Punjab has led to financial resources being used for merely paying-off the old debt and interest upon it. He claimed that Punjab has nearly one lakh of government posts vacant, due to lack of resources.

But Mr Sidhu's request to the Congress president to direct the Charanjit Singh Channi government to address issues flagged by him indicates that his tussle with the Chief Minister, which started over cabinet reshuffle and appointments, is far from over. Sidhu recently submitted his resignation over the matter which was later withdrawn after talks with Rahul Gandhi.

Sidhu's appeal states that "this is Punjab's last chance for resurrection and redemption" before a complete "mafia raj" drove the state to the point of no return and appealed earnestly for Sonia Gandhi to step in and guide the corrective measures.