More Punjab ministers Sunday condemned Navjot Singh Sidhu over his jibe at Amarinder Singh demanding he apologise to the chief minister and "learn how to respect elders", even as the former cricketer's wife said his statement was being twisted and taken out of context.
On Saturday, three ministers -- Rural Development and Panchayat minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Revenue and Rehabilitation minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi -- had called for Sidhu's resignation from the state cabinet.
On Sunday, state's Women and Child Development and Transport Minister Aruna Chaudhary said Sidhu's remark was "unforunate" and "uncalled for".
"What Navjot Singh Sidhu said about Capt Amarinder Singh is unfortunate. Such things should not have been said by him," she said.
Amarinder Singh was in the Army and served as a captain during the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War.
Chaudhary said, "Capt Amarinder Singh is our undisputed leader. He is captain of the party in the state. He was chief ministerial candidate in the last assembly elections and under him the party returned to power with an overwhelming majority. At the same time, Rahul Gandhi is captain of entire Congress, no one is disputing this fact. But what Sidhu has said about captain sahib is unfortunate."
On Sunday,Bajwa said, "Sidhu sahib has said that Capt Amarinder Singh is not his captain, he said that he is Army's captain. The tone and body language used by Sidhu towards the chief minister is not appropriate. It shows disrespect towards the CM. If Sidhu doubts Capt Amarinder's leadership, his ability, then it becomes his moral duty to resign."
"The speed at which he is going may cause an accident," he said of Sidhu. "I want to request Sidhu that he apologise to the chief minister and matter will end."
"When Sidhu was in the BJP, he hailed the contribution of Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley. He used to ridicule (former PM) Manmohan Singh by terming him 'Mouni Baba'. He is a man of U-turns. It seems his lust for power would end with accepting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as his Captain," BJP national secretary Tarun Chugh said. "He should be sacked immediately."