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HomePoliticsRahul & Priyanka inexperienced, will pit candidate against 'dangerous' Sidhu: Amarinder Singh

Rahul & Priyanka inexperienced, will pit candidate against ‘dangerous’ Sidhu: Amarinder Singh

Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says if Sonia Gandhi had 'just called me and asked me to step down, I would have... I am hurt'.

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Chandigarh: Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Congress high command, saying the “Gandhi children (Rahul and Priyanka)” were “inexperienced” and had been misled by their advisers in the recent series of events in the state.  

In a statement issued Wednesday evening, Amarinder reiterated that he will oppose “tooth and nail” any move to project Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party’s chief ministerial face in next year’s elections. If that happens, Amarinder said, he will pit a strong candidate against Sidhu in the polls to ensure the defeat of “such a dangerous man”.

Amarinder’s statement came days after he resigned as Punjab chief minister following a months-long tussle with Sidhu that led to a vertical split in the state Congress unit. In his resignation letter Saturday, Amarinder said he had been humiliated by the Congress leadership over the past two months. 

Charanjit Singh Channi succeeded him in the position.

Amarinder referred to Sidhu as “drama master”, saying “it would be a big thing if the Congress managed to touch double digits in Punjab polls” under him.

He also criticised the party’s decision to hold a Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting last week, after a group of MLAs approached the brass against the then CM. 

Amarinder said if Congress president Sonia Gandhi “had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have”.

Noting the “humiliation” caused by the “secretive” CLP meeting, he said, “I would not have taken MLAs on a flight to Goa or some place. That is not how I operate. I don’t do gimmicks, and the Gandhi siblings know that is not my way. 

“Priyanka and Rahul (Gandhi siblings) are like my children… this should not have ended like this. I am hurt.” 

After leading the Congress to another sweeping win in Punjab in 2017, he said, he had told Sonia he was ready to hang up his boots and allow someone else to take over as CM. “But that did not happen, so I will fight. You can be old at 40 and young at 80,” he added, saying he had also offered his resignation to Sonia three weeks earlier but she asked him to continue. 

Amarinder said his political options were open and he was consulting friends before announcing his next move. Earlier Wednesday, a cryptic tweet by Narender Bhambri, Amarinder’s OSD based in New Delhi, triggered speculation about his plans. “Reverting back with a Big Bang,” read the tweet, with a poster of Amarinder saying “Captain 2022” in Punjabi.

Amarinder said he will only leave politics on a high. “I was ready to leave after victory but never after a loss,” he said.


Also Read: Congress got the messaging right in Punjab but the Gandhis and Sidhu can’t celebrate yet


‘Punjab run from Delhi’

Punjab is being run from Delhi now, Amarinder said. As CM, he called the shots and appointed his own ministers, as he knew their capability, he said, questioning how Congress leaders like K.C. Venugopal or Ajay Maken or Randeep Surjewala could decide who is good for which ministry. 

“Our religions teach us that all are equal. I don’t look at people based on their caste, it’s about their efficiency,” he said, in a reference to the caste considerations that had dictated the choice of the new leadership in the state. Channi has been pitched by the Congress as Punjab’s first Dalit CM.

Taking a dig at Sidhu’s alleged interference in Charanjit Singh Channi’s domain, the former CM said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) should just decide on party affairs. “I had a very good PPCC president. I took his advice but he never told me how to run the government,” he added.

He termed it a sad situation for Punjab that Sidhu, “who could not handle his own ministry, should be managing the cabinet”. This was a reference to Sidhu’s removal as urban bodies minister in 2019 by Amarinder, who held him responsible for the Congress’ less-than-desirable performance in cities in the Lok Sabha polls.

“If Sidhu behaves as the super CM, the party won’t function,” he said.

Channi, he added, is “intelligent and well educated” but “unfortunately had no experience in managing home affairs, which was critical for Punjab that shares a 600 km border with Pakistan, with things getting more and more serious over the years”. 

“The amount of weapons and ammunition coming into Punjab from Pakistan is alarming,” he said, once again slamming Sidhu for his “close personal relations” with the Pakistan leadership. Sidhu is a former cricketing colleague of Pakistan PM Imran Khan and was among the invitees at his swearing-in in 2018.

On allegations of inaccessibility, Captain Amarinder said he had been elected to the Vidhan Sabha seven times and twice to Parliament. “There must be something right with me,” he said, adding that the Congress leadership had evidently decided on making the change (in Punjab) and were trying to make up a case.

This is an updated version of the report

(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)


Also Read: Why Channi is new Punjab CM — Congress eyeing large Dalit vote bank, peace between factions


 

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