News Desk: The Congress on Monday suspended former Punjab MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu after her sensational claim that a “Rs 500-crore suitcase” decides who becomes Chief Minister triggered a political firestorm.
Kaur, wife of former state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, had alleged that “the one who gives a suitcase of Rs 500 crore becomes the CM,” a remark that instantly embarrassed the party and armed its rivals.
‘‘The CM seat goes to the one with a 500 crore attaché.’’
Hours after she made the statement in front of the media, Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu has been suspended by the Congress party. pic.twitter.com/IRDModXUyx
— Suraj Balakrishnan (@SurajBala) December 8, 2025
Although she later attempted to clarify the statement on X—saying her words had been “twisted” and that the Congress had “never demanded anything”—the damage was already done. Her explanation failed to calm senior leaders, who viewed the comment as an attack on the party’s internal processes.
The controversy began on December 6 after Kaur met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. Asked why her husband had withdrawn from active politics, she responded that he would only return if the party projected him as its 2027 CM face—before adding that they didn’t have the “Rs 500 crore” allegedly needed to “buy” the post.
The remark triggered bipartisan outrage.
AAP questioned whether the suitcase was meant for the Congress high command, while BJP leaders Sunil Jakhar and Tarun Chugh said the comment exposed “institutionalised corruption” within Congress. Senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Randhawa too slammed the Sidhus for “anti-party behaviour.”
Under mounting pressure, the Congress high command moved to suspend Navjot Kaur Sidhu, signaling a tough stance as Punjab’s 2027 political battle begins to take shape.
