Rahul Gandhi disconnected from ground realities: Navjot Kaur Sidhu's big attack

Expelled Congress leader Navjot Kaur Sidhu has launched a blistering attack on party leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of being disconnected from ground realities and predicted the party’s defeat in the 2027 Punjab Assembly polls.

Speaking at a rally in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, Sidhu said Gandhi “talks sense” but fails to match words with action. She claimed she had sought time for eight months to flag alleged wrongdoing in the Punjab unit, including claims that election tickets had already been “sold”, but were ignored.

“If you don’t know what’s happening beneath you, then I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that chair,” she said, holding Rahul Gandhi responsible for the situation and sparking internal rumblings within the Punjab Congress unit.

Sidhu also alleged that promises made to her and her husband, senior leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, including a deputy chief minister’s post and an MP ticket, were not honoured.

Questioning Gandhi’s anti-corruption pitch, Sidhu accused his inner circle of shielding corrupt leaders and sidelining honest voices, warning that the party would “not win Punjab” if the course was not corrected.

“You gave us local bodies and tourism, and you wanted them to be run according to the CM. Why are you talking against corruption when your own people are corrupt? You're liking those corrupt people around you. The people surrounding you are totally corrupt. You have no time for the honest people who want to come and tell you that this is going wrong,” she said.

WHY WAS NAVJOT SIDHU EXPELLED?

Sidhu’s remarks came after she was expelled from the Congress on February 6 amid a row over her claim that aspirants for the Punjab chief minister’s post were expected to pay “Rs 500 crore in a suitcase” — a charge that drew sharp backlash and further deepened the party’s crisis in the state.

“We do not have Rs 500 crore to give to sit in the chief minister’s chair. The one who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore becomes the CM,” she had said. Sidhu, who later said her remarks were twisted, was earlier suspended from Congress in December 2025 before being expelled.

Sidhu has since intensified her criticism through a series of posts on X, alleging delayed decision-making by Gandhi and accusing his advisers of enjoying power while keeping him “in exile” from realities on the ground.

“Pappu has finally put a stamp on his name. A leader who thinks that he is the only honest and knowledgeable person, totally unaware of the ground realities. People working for him in his inner circle succeed in keeping him in exile and enjoying luxuries of life selling tickets long before he takes any decision,” she wrote on X on February 6.

“He takes more than six months to react to an emergency call, by which time loss is inevitable. Before asking people to join him, he should check out with his so-called supporters that are they ready to be honest???” she had added.

“Are they willing to be honest and work for Punjab?? Not many of your followers are willing for selfless service, rather they are busy filling their pockets because they know that they are not going to come back,“ she had said.

The remarks heightened speculations that Sidhu could rejoin the BJP, a party she joined in 2012 and left in 2016, before jumping ship to Congress.

In another swipe, Sidhu contrasted her political journey with Gandhi’s leadership style, claiming she had the freedom to work and speak frankly during her earlier stint with the BJP-led government. She said her focus would now remain on Punjab’s welfare, even outside active politics.

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(with inputs from PTI)