Sidhu was good against Spin ~ but now plays against the Nation

Experience is the comb that life gives you when you are bald; Age has been the perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.;  Beware of the naked man who offers you his shirt.;   Its very difficult to kill a man who is hell bent upon committing suicide!"; No one reads a book to reach the middle - its the end that matters ****

~ quotes from a Man, who first played in Ahmedabad in 1983, then at Chepauk stadium in Chennai, then had to wait 5 long years for his next of his total of 51 tests.  In all he made 3202 test runs with 9 centuries and 4413 runs in 136 ODIs with 6 centuries.  For statistical reasons, he would well remember that Test in Dec 1983 – his 2^nd – he made 20 – Gavaskar made 236* and Sidhu bowled his only over in International Cricket.

 

Sidhu as a strokeless wonder, then sixer hitting, then the man who walked out of the tour puffing against Captain Azharuddin; then Commentator trying to speaking flowery language irrespective of whether it gelled with the match situation or not, then getting cleared of a man-slaughter, in between Politics – Sidhu has been diverse, not as successful as he was an Opener. 

In Aug 2018, his hugging Pakistan Army chief Bajwa harried the Nation and there were strong words from many quarters including his own party.  Punjab  CM Amarinder Singh minced no words to spare Navjot Singh Sidhu and had categorically said that he was against the gesture he showed to the Pakistan Army Chief.  Subsequent media reports confirmed that Sidhu also faced opposition from some party ministers during the Cabinet meeting that was held later.   Cabinet Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa  openly asked Sidhu to tender an apology to the families of martyrs, as they were hurt by Sidhu's hug.

He has not learnt anything at all .. .. now in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan made a 'Sidhu for PM' pitch in his speech at the Kartarpur corridor's groundbreaking. Speaking at the end of the ceremony, shortly after Sidhu had showered superlative upon superlative on him, Imran Khan took the opportunity to taunt India over animosity between the two countries, not making a single reference to the terrorism Pakistan so regularly unleashes on Indian soil. Imran himself had not won a straight battle in elections and he has no business to say who should be the PM in India 0r otherwise, if he opposes someone (more specifically Sri Narendra Modiji) – that itself is more than sufficient ground for us to ensure he remains as our Prime Minister for many more years to come.

The trial of the century, as many observers in Canada  called it, began at the British Columbia Supreme Court on 28 April 2003. The courtroom was packed with families of the victims who had been awaiting justice for 18 years. There were relatives and supporters of the accused and there were many journalists and police in the public gallery as well.  A couple of years back Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person to be convicted was released from a Canadian prison after serving two decades behind bars. Reyat, a Sikh immigrant to Canada, previously served more than 15 years in prison for making the bombs that were stuffed into two suitcases and planted on planes leaving Vancouver.

The bombing of an Air India flight from Toronto to Bombay on 23 June 1985 — killing all 329 people on board — remains Canada’s deadliest terrorist attack and a great tragedy for the Indian Nation. A separate bomb blast the same day at Tokyo’s Narita Airport killed two baggage handlers. After a 15-year investigation into the largest mass murder in the country's history, two British Columbia Sikh separatists were charged with murder and conspiracy in both attacks. They were acquitted in 2005. A third accused, Inderjit Singh Reyat, was convicted of manslaughter for his role in building the two bombs.   Air India Flight 182  was  operating on the Toronto–Montreal–London–Delhi route.  On that fateful day,  Emperor Kanishka was destroyed by a bomb at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m), and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace. A total of 329 people were killed, including 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens and 24 Indian citizens.

Now when Sidhu visited Pakistan, CM of Punjab Mr Amarinder Singh had declined the invitation.  Paki PM Imran Khan heaped praises on Sidhu and then this nauseating thing happened.  A prominent pro-Khalistan separatist leader Gopal Singh Chawla, who had stopped Indian officials from visiting a Gurudwara in Lahore to meet Sikh pilgrims who had travelled from India, was first seen shaking hands with Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Soon after, Chawla released a photo on his Facebook page (not a verified account) where he was seen hugging Sidhu !  .. ..  a sitting MLA of an Indian State openly seen with a head of a terrorist Organisation that had killed hundreds of Indians, what a shame !!

A day after Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu attended the Kartarpur Corridor foundation stone-laying ceremony where he shared the stage with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pak Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, news emerged of he having held a closed-door meeting with Hafiz Saeed aide and pro-Khalistani leader Gopal Singh Chawla.  Gopal Singh Chawla, an aide of the 26/11 terror attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder, took to his social media and even shared a picture with Punjab minister Sidhu in which he referred to him in as his 'brother'. This is after Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had named Chawla as a terrorist while speaking to Republic TV.  Navjot Sidhu's bottomless appetite for applause leads him to such nonsense. 

It's not cricket, howled humourless foreign policy analysts, as Sidhu appeared bowled over by his “yaar dildaar Imran Khan”. He seemed to forget they were meeting on a quite different pitch. As a result, Team Imran walked away with PR points, leaving Team NDA stumped. When Imran invited him to contest elections from Pakistan, wicket boy Sidhu should've recalled his own witticism, “Beware the naked man who offers you his shirt”.  If Captain Imran was pleased with Sidhu, Captain Amarinder was not. The Punjab chief minister had refused Pakistan's invitation to attend the foundation-stone ceremony, while its Army was going all Osama bin Laden on Indian soldiers. He advised Sidhu not to attend, but Navjot went anyway.   Then a day ago, Sidhu went on air stating that he was   sent to Pakistan by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. He said his captain is Rahul Gandhi and wherever he went was with his permission.

Congress may deny ~ but .. .. sadly, this is the way politicians act against national interests.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar                                                       1^st Dec 2018.