oppn parties Sidhu's Resignation Drama: Devious Political Game

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Sidhu's Resignation Drama: Devious Political Game

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Navjot Singh Sidhu is up to his old tricks. He has resigned as a minister from the Punjab cabinet. But instead of submitting his resignation to the chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Sidhu is supposed to have sent his letter to Rahul Gandhi as far back as June 10th. Sidhu is too seasoned a politician to know that any resignation from the state cabinet is effective only if sent to, and accepted by, the Governor or the chief minister. Any other way of resigning is just dramabaazi.

But isn't Sidhu a champion in theatrics? His main purpose is not to resign but to create pressure on the chief minister who had demoted him in the recent cabinet reshuffle. He was divested of the local bodies, tourism and cultural affairs portfolio and moved to power and new and renewable energy department. He had not taken up the charge of his new ministry ever seen he was shifted to it. He knew that if he submitted the resignation to the state Governor or chief minister it would have been accepted. Hence, to put pressure on the chief minister he sent it to Rahul Gandhi.

Since the Congress is in turmoil right now, with Rahul Gandhi no longer the president, Sidhu's devious plan did not succeed. Having no alternative, Sidhu now says that he will send the resignation letter to the chief minister. Sidhu is known trouble-maker. The trouble with him is that he can't see beyond his nose. Further, he is being used as a pawn in a game of wits between the Gandhi family and the Punjab chief minister. Hence, Captain Amarinder Singh should accept his resignation and send him for a longish cooling-off period.

Further, why did he choose to make the resignation letter public now, one month after sending it? Does it have anything to do with his meeting with Rahul and Priyanka a couple of days ago? Is it also connected to Captain Amarinder Singh's recent comments that someone young should be made Congress president? The family obviously wants a stop-gap president to keep the seat warm for Rahul, who will return once the shame of a crushing defeat fades away. The Congress is known to clip the wings of influential state leaders who are a threat to the family. Is the family trying to cut the Captain to size by using Sidhu?