Navjot Singh Sidhu takes a dig at Centre, says ‘leave Army to fight battles, not elections’

Punjab minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu criticised the Centre saying it is politicising the top institutions for political motives. He even advised PM Modi-led government to stop using the Army for political gains. “Stop politicising the top institutions for political motives. Made a puppet of CBI, arm-twisted the RBI, covert operations of RAW exposed and the judiciary’s reprimand. For God sake leave the army to fight battles... not elections!” he tweeted on Tuesday.  

Calling PM Modi as ‘Prachar Mantri’ (Advertisement Minister), Sidhu said that ‘revenge of CRPF jawans should have been taken from terrorists... not trees’. 

Earlier on Monday, Sidhu had questioned the purpose of the attack on Balakot terror camp run by Jaish-e-Mohammed. “What was the purpose then? Were you uprooting terrorist or trees? Was it an election gimmick?” he had tweeted.

“Deceit possesses our land in guise of fighting a foreign enemy….Stop politicising the army, it is as sacred as the state,” he said on microblogging site today morning.

Sidhu had sparked controversy for insisting that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for in seeking a long-term solution to terror outfits operating across the border, amid a strain in India-Pakistan ties in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and subsequent developments.

"I stand by my conviction that dialogue and diplomatic pressure will count for a great deal in seeking a long-term solution to the presence and practice of terror outfits that operate within and across the border," the cricketer-turned-politician had said in a two-page statement titled "We have a choice."

However, Congress had distanced itself from his remarks terming the suggestions made by its Sidhu as his personal opinion and not that of the party.

The Centre and the opposition party leaders have been at loggerheads over the IAF strike in which 12 Mirage 2000 aircraft was used to drop 1000 kg bombs on a Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp across the Line of Control (LoC).