Amid speculation over his future move after resigning as Punjab chief minister pushed further by his meeting with Union Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday, Amarinder Singh scotched all speculation and made it clear he was not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but added that had no intention of continuing in the Congress either.
The Congress, he said, was going downhill with senior leaders completely ignored and not given a voice.
Denying any move to join the BJP, Amarinder said he would leave the Congress where he had been ‘utterly humiliated and was not trusted’. “I will resign…will not stay in the party,” he said, adding that he was still thinking through his options in the interest of Punjab, whose security was the predominant priority for him.
“I will not be treated in this humiliating manner…I will not take such insults,” he said, adding that his ‘principles and beliefs do not allow him to stay in the Congress’.
Old and the new
Terming the senior Congressmen as the thinkers, who were critical to the future of the party, the former Chief Minister said the younger leadership should be promoted to implement the plans, which the senior leaders are best equipped to formulate – a demand often and very publicly echoed by the G-23 group of rebel leaders. Unfortunately, the seniors were being completely sidelines, he said, adding this was not good for the party. He also condemned the attack on Kapil Sibal’s house by Congress workers ‘only because he had chosen to express views that were not palatable to the party leadership’.
Expressing the hope that Punjab would vote for the future of the state, he said his experience showed that the people of Punjab tend to vote for a single party/force, irrespective of the number of parties in the fray. Misgovernance in Punjab would give Pakistan the opportunity to create trouble in the state and in the country, he said, adding that his meeting with NSA Ajit Doval this morning centered around this issue.
The Captain had raised security concerns with Home Minister Amit Shah too, along with the farmers’ issue, during his meeting with the latter yesterday.
Reiterating his opinion of arch-rival Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amarinder described him as a ‘mere crowd puller who does not know how to carry his team along’. Pointing out that he had personally worked with many PPCC chiefs, besides himself being one, he said he always resolved issues amicably, without indulging in theatrics like Sidhu.
