Punjab Local Bodies and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was under the scanner once again, this time for gifting a stuffed bird to the state's Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. During a meeting with Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh recently, Sidhu had presented him the bird. However, the Chief Minister had reportedly told Sidhu that he would have to check if it was permissible to keep the bird protected under Schedule IV of the Act.
A case has been registered against Sidhu for violating Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, seeking a probe into how a Black Partridge was brought from Pakistan, kept in Punjab and later gifted to the Punjab CM.
"I got to know through newspapers that Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu brought a stuffed black partridge from Pakistan and gifted it to the CM. This is in violation of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972," Sandeep Jain, volunteer, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Punjab, said.
He added: "I have registered a complaint with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, New Delhi, seeking a probe on how the bird was brought from Pakistan and kept in Punjab for so long. "It's illegal to keep an animal or a bird or their body parts without permission," he said.
The WCCB is a statutory multi-disciplinary body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests to stop organised wildlife crime.
Earlier on December 12, the Punjab Cabinet minister had invited Amarinder Singh to his residence for "cordial talks".
"The love and affection which I got from the CM after meeting him is indicative of the fact that the whole issue had been blown out of proportion," he said, adding that "the CM did not say anything to me in this respect (controversy)…many times certain things are misinterpreted". This was Sidhu's first meeting with Amarinder Singh after a controversy erupted over his "captain" remarks.
The meeting came in the backdrop of demands for Sidhu's resignation from his cabinet colleagues after he had said Congress president Rahul Gandhi was his "captain" while Amarinder Singh was an "Army captain". He had made the remarks when asked why he attended the groundbreaking ceremony of Kartarpur Corridor despite the CM's disapproval.
