New Delhi: BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha, an official said.
“Navjot Singh Sidhu, nominated member, resigns from Rajya Sabha,” Gurdeep Singh Sappal, OSD to the Vice President Hamid Ansari tweeted on Monday.
The resignation letter has been addressed to Ansari, who is chairman of the Rajya Sabha, official sources said, adding he is likely to accept the resignation.
The resignation came as a big surprise to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which shares power with the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. The state is expected to go to the polls early next year.
Reacting to the development, AAP leader Sanjay Singh told TV channels: “We welcome the resignation of Sidhu from Rajya Sabha. For other queries you have, it’s all premature.”
Sanjay Singh also said the resignation of the cricketer-turned-politician from the Upper House is seen as a “protest” against the ongoing Akali-BJP dispensation in Punjab.
“All right minded people should join this dharam yudh (righteous battle) against corruption,” the AAP leader said.
AAP is seen as a contender for power in Punjab,
His wife Navjot Kaur, a Parliamentary Secretary in Punjab SAD-BJP govt may also resign, as per Indian Express sources.
As per reports, the former India cricketer, commentator and BJP’s Lok Sabha MP from Amritsar is likely to switch loyalties to join Aam Aadmi Party.
Sidhu was MP from Amritsar from 2004 to 2014.