Amarinder hits out at Gandhi siblings: 'They are misguided'

New Delhi: Feeling “hurt”, Punjab’s former Congress CM Capt. Amarinder Singh opened up on Wednesday on his resignation and the Punjab Congress. Attacking state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Capt. Amarinder Singh said Mr Sidhu was “dangerous” for the country and that the party will not win even 10 seats in Punjab under his leadership in the upcoming Assembly elections. The old warhorse further added that he was ready to make any sacrifice to stop Navjot Singh Sidhu from becoming Punjab CM, and vowed to “pit a strong person against him to ensure his defeat in the 2022 Assembly polls”.

Capt. Singh said he had offered his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi three weeks earlier, but she had asked him to continue. “If she had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have,” he said, adding: “As a soldier, I know how to do my task and leave once I am called back.”

The former CM said he didn’t like how the Congress had called a CLP meeting stealthily at night. He said: “I would not have taken the MLAs on a flight to Goa or someplace. That is not how I operate. I don’t do gimmicks, and the Gandhi siblings know that is not my way,” he said. Capt. Singh said that “Priyanka and Rahul (Gandhi siblings) are like my children… this should not have ended like this. I am hurt”, and went on to add that the brother-sister duo were “quite inexperienced… and their advisers were clearly misguiding them”.

He also lashed out at the Gandhi siblings’ advisers – specifically K.C. Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala – and wondered how these leaders could decide who was good for which ministry. Interestingly, Capt. Singh did not attack the AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab, Mr Harish Rawat.

Accusing Mr Sidhu of trying to act like a “super chief minister”, Capt. Singh said it was a “sad situation” for Punjab that Mr Sidhu, who could not handle his own ministry, should be managing the Cabinet. “If Sidhu behaves as the super CM, the party won’t function,” he said, adding that under this “drama master’s leadership”, it would be a big thing if the Congress managed to even touch double digits in the Punjab polls. On the financial subsidies announced by the new CM, Capt. Singh said he just hoped that these don’t bankrupt the state. He said Charanjit Singh Channi was “a good minister, an intelligent man”. He then added: “As long as he doesn’t come under the influence of Navjot Singh Sidhu, he will be able to run the government.”