Not in Congress, nor joining BJP: Capt Amarinder Singh
text_fields
New Delhi: Putting widespread speculations to rest, for now at last, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that he was not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, he left no doubt that he would not continue in the Congress either.
His resignation from the post of chief minister of Punjab and the meeting with BJP leader Amit Shah on Wednesday had triggered the speculation that he would join the BJP soon. He has cleared the air for now with the statement on Thursday.
The Congress, he said was on an descending track when senior leaders are completely ignored and not given a voice.
Captain Amarinder Singh attributed his decision of leaving the grand old party to his being utterly humiliated and not being trusted.
"I will resign, will not stay in the party," he said, adding that he was still thinking through his options in the interest of Punjab, whose security was the predominant priority for him.
"I will not be treated in this humiliating manner. I will not take such insults," he said, adding that his principles and beliefs do not allow him to stay in the Congress.
Terming the senior Congressmen as the thinkers, who were critical to the future of the party, the former Chief Minister said the younger leadership should be promoted to implement the plans, which the senior leaders are best equipped to formulate.
He lamented that unfortunately the seniors were being completely sidelined. . He cited the attack on Kapil Sibal's house by Congress workers and remarked that it happened only because he expressed his views that were not pleasing to the party leadership.
Regarding the prospects in the upcoming state assembly election in his home state Punjab, he said his experience showed that the people of Punjab tend to vote for a single party or force, irrespective of the number of parties in the fray.
Misgovernance in Punjab would give Pakistan the opportunity to create trouble in the state and in the country, he said, adding that his meeting with NSA Ajit Doval this morning focused around this issue.
Amarinder had raised security concerns with Home Minister Amit Shah too, along with the farmers' issue, during his meeting with the latter on Wednesday.