Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday rushed to New Delhi and held a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi with no end in sight in his row with Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The chief minister complained Gandhi that Sidhu’s criticism of his government “does not augur well for smooth functioning”.

Sonia directed that “both the state government and the Congress unit in Punjab must work together and not on cross purposes”, said Congress’s Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat after the meeting.

The meeting precedes an anticipated cabinet reshuffle in Punjab and comes in the midst of strong indications that the feud between the Congress’s top two in the state is far from over.

Navjot Singh Sidhu. File photo

On Monday, Sidhu posted a series of tweets pointing out that he had held a press conference in 2018 asking the state government to immediately act upon the information shared by STF with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“After 2.5 years of delay, how much more the People of Punjab should wait? What investigation had Punjab Police done? What action had Punjab government has taken? Must be brought into public domain. Since submission of reports, what further action did the state take in 2.5 years? Govt must make itself accountable to the Public with complete transparency !! Punishing culprits behind Drug trade is Congress’s priority under 18-Point Agenda... . If further delayed will bring resolution in Punjab Vidhan Sabha for making the Reports Public,” Sidhu tweeted.

Weeks after Amarinder grudgingly accepted the cricketer-turned-politician’s appointment as leader of the party’s state unit, tweets by Sidhu threaten to undo the hard-won truce.

Sidhu resumed his attack on his party’s government over inaction against Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia and others, all of whom were allegedly involved in a 2018 drug trafficking case.

“Punishing the culprits behind the drug trade is the Congress’s priority under the 18-Point Agenda. What is the action taken on Majithia? If further delayed, we will bring a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for making the reports public,” he tweeted.

Sidhu also lashed out at his party government’s apparent inability to tackle the drug problem; he did so without naming the chief minister.

Rawat said Sonia took stock of the work done to fulfill promises of the Congress, perhaps a reference to Sidhu’s tweet.

The chief minister apprised Sonia about his government’s efforts in resolving the power crisis and cracking down on the drug mafia.

Singh also talked about giving more representation to Dalits in his cabinet, said the Congress leader.

Constant barbs and critical comments by Sidhu aimed at Amarinder have been one of the major flashpoints in a political row that has threatened (and continues to threaten) to wreck the Congress’ attempt to win re-election in Punjab next year.

After extended negotiations between Camp Sidhu, Camp Amarinder Singh and a three-man peace-making team nominated by Gandhi, a compromise was reached.

This included increased representation to Dalits and promises from the chief minister to address rebel MLAs concerns; these ranged from the state’s power crisis to a 2015 case about the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib.

The chief minister also demanded a greater say in the party’s state affairs ahead of the election, and a public apology from Sidhu — which the former cricketer has yet to make.

The feud dates back to the 2017 election, when the former cricketer hoped to be made deputy chief minister but was reportedly denied the post by Singh.

Navjot Sidhu, the Congress’s star campaigner in that election, instead became a minister in the Amarinder Singh government but quit two years later after his ministry was downgraded.

After prolonged silence and detachment from party affairs, he began re-targeting the Captain in recent months, becoming a hard-to-ignore problem in the run-up to the Punjab election.