Offering open support to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh after Navjot Singh Sidhu's ‘captain’ jibe, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu have put up hoardings across Ludhiana that read, ‘Punjab da captain, sadda captain’.

Ludhiana MP Bittu told Indian Express that the hoardings — with photographs of Amarinder, Bittu and Ashu — are meant to “clear misunderstanding” in minds of people like Sidhu who have forgotten that “the people of Punjab elected Amarinder Singh as the captain of Punjab.”

Addressing a press conference in poll-bound Hyderabad on Friday, Sidhu had said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was his captain and Capt Amarinder Singh was “an army captain”.

On being asked why he chose to ignore the advice of his captain to visit Pakistan, Sidhu said, “Which captain you are talking about. Oh… Captain Amarinder Singh. He is Army Captain. My captain is Rahul Gandhi. Captain’s captain is also Rahul Gandhi.”

Miffed over Sidhu’s comments on Amarinder, a fellow cabinet minister, sought his resignation from the state cabinet. "If he does not consider Capt Amarinder as his captain then he should resign on moral grounds from the cabinet and do whatever work is assigned to him by Rahul Gandhi," Punjab cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said.

Amarinder Singh had declined Pakistan’s invitation to attend the ceremony, citing Islamabad’s continued support to terrorism in India. He was also reportedly unhappy over Sidhu’s visit.

Sidhu, however, later said that Amarinder Singh is like a father figure and added that this is not the first time he has gone without informing.