Declaring that he would launch his new party as soon as the Election Commission clears the name and the symbol, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday hit out at the Congress, saying many people from the party were in touch with him and they would come out in the open when the time comes.
“We are waiting for the opportune moment. But I will not take their names. Already, my supporters are being harassed,” said Captain Amarinder, addressing his first press conference after stepping down as Chief Minister. Asked how many MLAs were in touch with him, he quipped “if Rahul Gandhi needs to have back-to-back meetings with Punjab Congress MLAs, what does it mean?”
As to why he had not resigned yet from the party, Captain Amarinder responded, “I have spent 50 years in the Congress, how does it matter if I stay for another 10 days?” He rejected Congress claims of a majority of MLAs opposing his continuation in office, and said “once they (party leadership) had made up their mind to replace me, all these excuses were made”. Pointing out that the so-called 18-point agenda of the Congress for his government was nothing but part of the Punjab 2017 manifesto, he said the Kharge committee was clearly told that 92% of all the poll promises had been fulfilled.
Taking on his detractors, particularly PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Captain Amarinder slammed them, saying that they were indulging in petty issues. “We will fight and defeat Sidhu from wherever he contests the upcoming Assembly polls,” he vowed, adding that since the former had taken over the Punjab Congress reins, there had been a 25% drop in the party’s popularity, as per his surveys.
Trashing allegations against his Pakistani friend Aroosa Alam, Captain Amarinder termed as baseless the charges of money being sent out by her. Even as he asked if Aroosa was the only issue left in Punjab; he questioned the intention of Randhawa in raking up the issue now, after never raising it all these years. Aroosa had been visiting him for 16 years and he would definitely invite her again, he added.
Pointing out that he had never spoken of aligning with the BJP, Captain Amarinder said what he wanted to do was seat sharing. “In military parlays it means concentration of forces,” he remarked, adding that he had, however, not yet talked to the BJP on this. Dismissing as trash Sidhu’s tweet accusing him of being loyal to BJP, he said the thought of seat sharing with the BJP came to his mind only after he was forced out of office. “States have to work with the Centre to function effectively,” he pointed out.
He further made it clear that he had no intention of aligning with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) but only with breakaway Akali groups. Asked about reported refusal of Dhindsa to tie up with him, Captain Amarinder said: “If Dhindsa has to put up a real fight, he will have to concentrate his forces too. To defeat the Congress, the SAD and AAP, we will all have to work as a joint force.”
Trashing allegations of not delivering during the 4.5 years of his rule, Captain Amarinder listed out the various works completed by his government and said the Charanjit Channi government was merely implementing what we had decided to do. “All the work we started is simply being carried forward. The land ownership of Lal Doras and slums was started by me, it was a decision of my cabinet,” he pointed out.
Countering propaganda that nothing had happened in the Bargari and other sacrilege cases, the former chief minister said all were investigated. As many as 19 police officers and 21 civilians were booked, he said, pointing out that all these processes take time. He also shared with the media a booklet titled “Facts v/s Disinformation”, detailing achievements of his government from March 2017 till 18 September 2021. On the political issues he will prioritize in the elections, the former CM said a manifesto committee would finalise the same. Issues keep changing, he noted.
Captain Amarinder Singh will soon lead a non-political delegation of agricultural experts to meet the Union Home Minister to discuss possible solutions to the ongoing farmers’ agitation. Disclosing this here on Wednesday, Captain Amarinder said he had been discussing various options with Home Minister Amit Shah, who he will be meeting in Delhi again on Thursday, and others.
“I think I can help in finding a solution as I have been the Chief Minister of Punjab and am also an agriculturist,” Captain Amarinder said. While there could be no pre-decided formula for resolution of the farmers’ stir, something will emerge during the talks as both sides (Central government and farmers) want a resolution to the crisis triggered by the farm laws, he said.
Making it clear that he had not met any farmer leaders, the former Chief Minister said he had deliberately not interfered in the matter as the farmers did not want politicians involved. The farmer leaders had four inconclusive meetings with the Centre but back channel talks have been going on, he added. Captain Amarinder had earlier said any seat arrangement he made with the BJP would be subject to a resolution of the farmers’ issue in their interest.
Slamming the state government over its repeated denial of any serious security concerns, Captain Amarinder said there was something very wrong and dangerous happening at the borders, which the state could ill-afford to ignore. He trashed allegations that the BSF would take over the state’s administration or will be deployed in Golden Temple etc, and said such misconceptions were being spread by certain people to score brownie points in the run-up to the Assembly elections. “The BSF is here for helping maintain national security as we are a border state,” he said, calling for full support by the state to the Centre in the interest of national security.
Captain Amarinder Singh said he was not an alarmist, but his 10 years of experience in the Army and 9.5 years as home minister of the state told him that “something is going to happen”. “Yet a home minister who has been in his chair for one month claims to know more than me!” he quipped, taking a dig at Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
“Sleeper cells of Pak ISI and Khalistani forces are creating trouble, technology is becoming more advanced. The capacity and range of drones is increasing, first they came in just 5-6 km from the border, now they reach 31 km,” he pointed out. “We have to be very careful of the clandestine war from across the borders,” he added.
While the Punjab Police was a first-class and well-trained force, they were, however, not trained to combat such threats, said the former Chief Minister, asserting that they need the help of BSF and CRPF to tackle the problem. He pointed out that even in the days of terrorism, the Army was helping out and nobody took over the state government job. BSF’s assistance was essential to maintain peace in Punjab, he said, adding that the state has been through tough times and nobody wants it to suffer again.