New Delhi, September 30
Former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday said he was leaving the Congress but not joining the BJP.
“I have no intention of continuing in the Congress. I will not take insults,” Singh said confirming his meeting with NSA Ajit Doval whom, he said, he met to discuss the Punjab security situation in the wake of Pakistan fomenting trouble.
The former CM said Navjot Sidhu is a mere crowd-puller and not a serious leader. Sidhu can’t take the team along, Amarinder said, adding that CM Charanjit Singh Channi is intelligent and could govern provided Sidhu allowed him to.
He said he had not yet resigned from the Congress but would soon do so.
“The Congress is going downhill with senior leaders being completely ignored and not given a voice. I will leave the Congress where I have been utterly humiliated and was not trusted. I will resign…will not stay in the party,” he said, adding that he was mulling his options in the interest of Punjab, whose security is the priority for him.
“I will not be treated in this humiliating manner…I will not take such insults,” he said, adding that his principles did not allow him to stay in the Congress.
Sources said Amarinder could start a non-political front to begin with and attempt a resolution of farmers’ agitation.
“I met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and gave him suggestions on how to resolve the farmers’ issue. They can give Punjab Rs 25,000 crore to diversify and pay MSP for other crops apart from wheat and rice,” said Amarinder, adding that with Doval too he raised the issue of Punjab security.
Terming senior Congressmen as thinkers, who are critical to the future of the party, the former chief minister said younger leadership should be promoted to implement the plans, which the senior leaders are best equipped to formulate. “Unfortunately, the seniors are being completely sidelined. This is not good for the party,” he said.
He condemned the attack on Kapil Sibal’s house by Congress workers on Wednesday “just 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 tended to vote for a single party and 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 centred around this.
Amarinder had raised security concerns with Union Home Minister Amit Shah too, along with the farmers’ issue, during their meeting on Wednesday.
Taking a dig at those who undermined the growing Pakistani threat in Punjab, Amarinder said such people were playing into the hands of anti-India forces. “They (Pak-backed elements) are killing our soldiers every day, they are pushing weapons into the state through drones. How can we overlook these dangers?” he added.
Reiterating his opinion of Sidhu, Amarinder described him as a mere crowd-puller who did not know how to carry his team along. Pointing out that he had worked with many PPCC chiefs, besides himself being one, he said he had always resolved the issues amicably, without indulging in theatrics like Sidhu did.
