When Navjot Singh Sidhu addressed a full-fledged press conference outside the Punjab assembly on Thursday, the first time in almost two years, political circles were abuzz with speculations about a major announcement. But the 40-minute press conference did not set off any ‘political explosions’ even though analysts began reading between the lines.

“Muted inside, loud outside. He has started to learn how Congress operates.  Take a dig at your detractor but don’t take it to a stage where you find yourself isolated,’’ commented a senior party leader referring to Sidhu’s ‘explainer’ press conference on the farm laws. Ever since the budget session began on Monday, Sidhu has remained silent inside the house. Be it the din over the fuel price hike or the farmer agitation, the cricketer-turned-politician did not speak up even once. But outside he has been loud. He has taken direct and indirect umbrage at the Captain Amarinder Singh government on multiple occasions.

Ironically, he took to his YouTube channel to take a dig at his own government for failing to rein in the ‘mafia’ which was plundering the state coffers. “I am against nobody. I am on Punjab’s side. There needs to be clarity on policy, intention and justice,’’ he announced on his YouTube channel Jittega Punjab. In the video on ‘My stand on the budget’, Sidhu maintained that the state’s income was going into private pockets.

Then there is the flurry of cryptic Twitter messages which he keeps posting time and again. While some include hashtags on farmers’ agitation, others seem to be directed at the present regime. “The road to Delhi via the Governor Pb is shrouded with uncertainty.. what is certain is the democratic power given to us by the people – the authority to legislate …. let us use this power to safeguard our Farmers, take our destiny in our hands (sic) !’’ says one tweet, in a clear reference to the amended farm laws.

In yet another veiled attack on the government, Sidhu tweeted: “Jis jung mai badshah ki jan ko khatra na ho, ushe jung nahi rajneeti kehte hain (Battles, where the king’s life is not in danger, aren’t really battles but politics).”  Without defining who the ‘badshah’ is, Sidhu has left the political grapevine abuzz.

Party insiders said that Sidhu, perhaps, was trying to exert pressure on the party high command which is contemplating a rejig in the state unit amidst reports that the chief minister was pushing for a Dalit as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Chief.