‘Outsider’ Sidhu calls Amritsar ‘home’,buys plot to build house

Sidhu first won an election on Bharatiya Janata Party ticket in 2004,with a huge margin,defeating Congress old horse R L Bhatia. Due to a murder case,he had to resign,but with permission from the Supreme Court,he contested the byelection in 2007 and defeated Surinder Singla of the Congress,though with a slender margin this time.

In the Parliamentary polls of 2009,he defeated O P Soni of the Congress and became the MP for the third time. He is often praised for a straightforward approach,honesty and carrying the spirit of sportsmanship but remained in the thick of controversies for not giving enough time to his constituency. “The criticism used to pinch me hard. I was living in rented accommodations,but have now decided that since Amritsar has given me a lot in public life,I will not befool my people here and run away,” he said,adding that he planned to build a house on the plot,and according to Vastu Shashtra recommendations.

Asked why it took him so long to take this decision,Sidhu said “It was always at the back of my mind that I should buy a house here. Then I thought that I should build one as per my requirements. I will hardly go to my ancestral home in Patiala as my wife is also willing to shift here,” he said,adding that he was upset that this personal matter was made a major political issue against him by his detractors.