Navjot Singh Sidhu a cruel man, abandoned our mother: His sister

New Delhi: A woman claiming to be Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu's elder sister has said he was a "cruel man" and had "abandoned" their mother and eldest sister soon after their father's death. The woman, identified as Suman Toor, said she was an NRI who lived in the United States with her doctor husband, and was 15 years older than Sidhu.

Toor held a press conference on Friday and levelled the allegations against Sidhu, which have come in the wake of Rahul Gandhi saying on Thursday that he was not left with any other option but to name the chief ministerial face of the party for the upcoming Punjab assembly elections. Gandhi said he will soon be doing this to put an end to the so-called power tussle between Sidhu and incumbent chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi.

The fresh controversy may not be favourable for Sidhu, whose chief adviser Mohammad Mustafa was booked for a "hate speech" a few days ago. The allegations against Sidhu are of a serious nature.

Sidhu has not yet responded to the allegations, but his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu claimed that Sidhu's father had two marriages. From his first marriage, he had two daughters. Sidhu did not know them at all, she added.

Toor, who looked visibly upset at the press conference, said, "I even went to Amristsar to meet him on January 20, but he refused to even let me inside the gate. He has blocked me on his mobile phone. I told him, 'Sherry, you are a very cruel man'," adding, "he has cut all ties with me and denies my existence."

Recounting how Sidhu treated their mother, Toor became emotional and alleged that he left her to die as a destitute. She said they even had an elder sister who had died. "We have seen very tough times after our father's death in 1986. Sidhu snatched away everything from us. All my father's hard work came to nought, as we weren't even allowed to live in the house he built for all of us. In 1989, my mother died as a destitute at Delhi raliway station."

She also alleged that Sidhu "put an end to all family ties due to his greed" and drove their mother and eldest sister out soon after his father's death.

Toor claimed all his life Sidhu had been lying about their parents. She alleged that Sidhu had claimed that their parents were separated when he was two years old but that was a lie. She also displayed a "family photo" and questioned whether he looked two in the picture. She said, "I have proof of all that I am saying right now. Sidhu, who has a proof for everything, must be asked to come up with proof regarding this. I am ready to talk to him face to face. Sidhu separated his mother and sister from the family fortune and left them to perish.