Former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh to launch own party, may ally with BJP: Report
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New Delhi: Putting all speculations to rest, former Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said that he will soon announce the launch of his own political party, adding that he is also open to forming an alliance with the BJP for the 2022 Punjab assembly elections.
In a series of tweets on Tuesday evening, the former Chief Minister's media advisor Raveen Thukral quoted him as saying, "Will soon announce the launch of my own political party to serve the interests of Punjab & its people, including our farmers who've been fighting for their survival for over a year".
'I will not rest till I can secure the future of my people and my state. Punjab needs political stability and protection from internal & external threats. I promise my people I will do what it takes to ensure its peace and security, which is today at stake': @capt_amarinder 3/3 https://t.co/HB4xYwYcKM
— Raveen Thukral (@RT_Media_Capt) October 19, 2021
Singh is yet to officially quit Congress. While the party's central leadership is yet to comment on the issue, Punjab's cabinet minister Pargat Singh said, "I had already said that the Captain is allied with BJP and Akali Dal, he used to get his agenda from the BJP".
Meanwhile, the announcement by Amarinder Singh has been received with a lot of criticism.
Punjab minister Pargat Singh on Tuesday hit out at Singh, "I had said all along that Captain is in bed with the BJP and Akali Dal. He used to get his agenda from the BJP."
The 79-year old -- who had been with the Congress for more than four decades and has been its biggest mass leader in Punjab -- stepped down from the top post in September, admitting to having suffered "humiliation" by the Congress in his long and bitter feud with Navjot Singh Sidhu and a section of the party MLAs.
After his meeting with Amit Shah at the end of September, Singh had tweeted that they discussed the "prolonged farmers' agitation against Farm Laws". He also said he had urged the minister "to resolve the crisis urgently with the repeal of the laws and guarantee MSP".