Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) chief Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the mission of his party is to form the next government in the state and not just defeat Congress.

Addressing a meeting of party workers and office-bearers after inducting a former Member of Parliament and some former legislators into the party today, Amarinder said he was very happy with the enthusiasm he is getting from people across the state.

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He said soon many sitting and former Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from all the three political parties Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Shiromani Akali Dal would join the Punjab People’s Congress.

Amarinder said he had not formed PLC just to become the Chief Minister once again but to save Punjab and restore its old honour. He also expressed surprise as to the manner in which Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was making populist announcements.

Presumably, he knows that Congress is not going to come back to power and the next government will have to bear the burden, the former CM added.

Referring to the threat from neighboring countries, Amarinder said India does not want to have enmity with any country. The former Congress leader said he is not personally against any Pakistani person, but he has a problem with the government of Pakistan and the terrorism factories there, who spread terrorism and kill Indian soldiers on the borders of the country.

He revealed that 83 Punjab jawans have been martyred during the last five years. Under these circumstances, no real Indian can call Imran Khan and Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa as his friend, Amarinder said in reference to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s recent remark describing Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan as his friend. “If you are a friend of these people, then you are not a well-wisher of India,” he added.

Amarinder said the Congress party was facing infighting and the CM and the state Congress president were moving in different directions. About the Aam Aadmi Party, he said that it is facing a phase of decline.

Half of its MLAs have already left the party and the rest are ready to leave. On his party’s strategy, Amarinder said Punjab Lok Congress will share seats with the BJP. Meanwhile, Amarinder warned Punjab Police officials against intimidating his party workers at the behest of some local Congress leaders.