Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said he was not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but had no intention of continuing in the Congress, which 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. “I will not be treated in this humiliating manner…I will not take such insults,” Amarinder said, adding that his principles and beliefs do not allow him to stay in Congress.

Advertisement

Back in Chandigarh from New Delhi, Amarinder maintained he is quitting the Congress but not joining the BJP. Asked if the Congress government should go for a floor test to prove its majority following his decision to quit the party, the former CM said it’s for the Assembly Speaker to see if a party has lost majority.

Amarinder maintained his meeting with Shah and NSA, Ajit Doval in New Delhi were concerned with the issues of security in the border state where drones were being sent from Pakistan on a daily basis.

Continuing his attack on Sidhu, Amarinder said the cricketer-turned-politician is not the right man for Punjab. “I will not let him (Sidhu) win from wherever he contests Punjab Assembly polls,” he said.

On Sidhu’s resignation as Punjab Congress chief over certain appointments by, Charanjit Singh Channi government, Amarinder said it’s CM’s prerogative to appoint or remove an officer. “In my over nine years as CM, I have not seen such a situation created by Sidhu,” he added.

Earlier, terming the senior Congressmen as the thinkers, who were critical to the future of the party, the former CM said the younger leadership should be promoted to implement the plans, which the senior leaders are best equipped to formulate.

Unfortunately, the seniors were being completely sidelined, he said, adding this was not good for the party. He also condemned the attack on Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s house by party workers only because he had chosen to express views that were not palatable to the party leadership.

Misgovernance in Punjab would give Pakistan the opportunity to create trouble in the state and in the country, he said.

Amid speculation over his possible defection to the BJP, Amarinder had met senior party leader and Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday. A spokesperson of the former CM, however, said Amarinder had raised security concerns with Shah too, along with the farmers’ issue, during his meeting with the latter yesterday.

Reiterating his opinion of Sidhu, Amarinder described him as a mere crowd puller who does not know how to carry his team along and indulges in theatrics.

Meanwhile, a nearly two-hour meeting between Punjab CM, Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Sidhu in Chandigarh today failed to pacify the latter who resigned from the party post citing compromise by the CM in the appointment of tainted ministers, Director General of Police and the Attorney General.

The party high command has suggested a coordination committee to strike a balance between the government and the party when it comes to taking major decisions.