Amarinder Singh a 'father figure' to me, will sort out issues: Sidhu

Jaipur, Dec 3: Under fire from state Congress leaders for saying that Captain Amarinder Singh was not his 'captain', crickter-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is at the eye of the storm over his Pakistan visit, said the Punjab Chief Minister was a father figure to him.

Three Punjab ministers on Saturday called for Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation from the state cabinet over his jibe at Chief Minister Amarinder Singh

"You don't want wash dirty linen in public. He (Captain Amarinder Singh) is a fatherly figure, I love him, I respect him, I will sort it out myself," Sidhu said in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, today (December 3).

The row over Sidhu's trip to Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor ground breaking ceremony escalated after the crickter turned politician claimed that Congress' central leadership had allowed hom to visit Pakistan. Sidhu later backtracked on his claim that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was involved in his decision to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor.

"Get your facts right before you distort them, Rahul Gandhi Ji never asked me to go to Pakistan. The whole world knows I went to Pakistan on Prime Minister Imran Khan's personal invite," Sidhu tweeted.

A day earlier in Hyderabad, Sidhu had mocked Capt Amarinder Singh, when reporters asked him about going to Pakistan despite his disapproval.

"Rahul Gandhi is my captain. It is he who sent me to Pakistan. Rahul Gandhi is the captain of the captain (Amarinder Singh) also," Sidhu had then said.

Reacting to this, the Punjab ministers said if Sidhu, who holds the local bodies and tourism portfolios, didn't consider Amarinder Singh to be his captain, he should quit the chief minister's team.