Announcing his decision to form a new party ‘Punjab Lok Congress’ ahead of early 2022 Assembly polls, Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday resigned from the Congress accusing party chief Sonia Gandhi and her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, of carrying out a “midnight conspiracy” in a bid to oust him from the Chief Minister’s post.
In a seven-page letter to Congress president, Amarinder,78, described the Congress decision to call a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting ‘in the dead of the night through Twitter’ without informing him as the “most egregious act”.
“I immediately realised that the intention was to belittle and humiliate this self respecting old soldier. You called me at 10.15 a.m. the next morning and asked me to resign. I did so without batting even an eyelid. However, the crude manner in which the whole operation was executed by the undertakers of the Congerss left a very foul taste in the mouth,” he said in the letter.
Describing his bete noire Navjot Singh Sidhu as “an unstable individual” and “an acolyte of the Pakistani deep state”, Amarinder accused Sonia Gandhi of patronising him. “.. You (Sonia) will one day regret this decision (to appoint Sidhu as Punjab Congress chief) and it would be too late by then. I am sure you must be regretting it now,” he said.
Expressing his concern about the “inexperienced hands” getting charge of Punjab despite the massive influx of weapons and explosives and narcotics from Pakistan, the former CM said he is “neither tired nor retired”. “I intend to soldier on and not fade away,” he added.
In a separate statement, Amarinder said the Election Commission has approved his party’s name (Punjab Lok Congress) and it will be formally launched later after choosing one of six symbols.