After resigning from the post of Punjab Advocate General, APS Deol attacked state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, accusing him of obstructing the functioning of the state government and “tarnishing the image of the party to gain political advantage”.

Punjab’s Advocate-General APS Deol tendered his resignation to CM Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday.

Deol (61) was appointed to the top post on September 27 following the departure of Atul Nanda, who stepped down as Advocate-General after the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh as chief minister of Punjab.

Deol’s remarks came a day after Sidhu withdrew his resignation as Punjab Congress chief but said he would assume charge the day Punjab gets a new Advocate General.

Sidhu had resigned from the post on September 28.

In a statement, Deol said Sidhu’s “repeated utterances seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state government to ensure justice in the drugs matter and the sacrilege cases”.

“Navjot Singh Sidhu is spreading misinformation to gain political advantage over his political colleagues.

“There is a concerted attempt by vested interests to malign the functioning of the Congress party in view of coming elections in Punjab for their selfish political gain by politicking the constitutional office of the Advocate General of Punjab,” he added.

Sidhu, the Amritsar East MLA, has been opposing Deol’s appointment as the state AG and Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota’s as DGP. Both Deol and Sahota are considered Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s choices.

Last month, Sidhu had said that the Congress would have “no face” if the AG and DGP were not removed.

Deol had represented former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in cases related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents and police firing on protesters, while Sahota was the head of the special investigation team formed by the previous SAD-BJP government to probe the sacrilege incidents.

Deol had replaced Atul Nanda, who had stepped down in September following the resignation of Amarinder Singh as Punjab chief minister.