Dolly Chopra
Chandigarh
Former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh held a press conference on October 27 and said that he will soon share the name and symbol of his new party once it is confirmed by the Election Commission.
“Yes, I will be forming a new party. The name will be announced once the Election Commission clears it, along with the symbol. My lawyers are working on it,” Singh said in Chandigarh. None of his former Cabinet Ministers, MLAs or senior party leaders considered close to him showed up, but the former CM claimed many were in touch and they would come out in the open at the right time.
“I will not mention names. Already my supporters are being harassed. I promise that we will contest all 117 Assembly seats”, he said.
Asked how many MLAs were in touch with him, he quipped: “If Rahul Gandhi needs to hold back-to-back meetings with Punjab Congress MLAs, what does it mean?” Asked as to why he had not resigned from the Congress yet, he replied: “I have spent 50 years in the Congress, how does it matter if I stay for another 10 days?” Heading a delegation of agricultural experts, Captain is scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah to find a solution to the farmers’ stir.
The ex-CM vowed to defeat Sidhu in the coming polls. Citing surveys, he claimed there had been a 25% drop in Congress’ popularity ever since Sidhu took over the reins of the Punjab Congress. He rejected the claim that a majority of MLAs had opposed his continuation in office, saying: “Once they (party leadership) made up their mind to replace me, these excuses were made.”
Trashing allegations against his Pakistani friend Aroosa Alam, Captain said she had been visiting him for 16 years and he would invite her again. He shared with the media a booklet titled “Facts v/s Disinformation”, detailing achievements of his government.
Navjot Sidhu, meanwhile, took another dig at him, calling him the “negative force” who had stalled “justice and development.” Navjot Sidhu slams Capt Amarinder Singh, says he sold Punjab’s interests
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder and PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu once again found themselves crossing swords with each other. The two leaders didn’t mince words to attack each other on Twitter.
In a series of tweets, Sidhu said: “We the 78 MLAs of Congress could never imagine what we received — an arm-twisted, ED-controlled BJP-loyal Chief Minister of Punjab who sold the interests of Punjab to save his skin! You were the negative force stalling Justice and development of Punjab.” He further tweeted: “Were you unceremoniously dumped for good governance? And 18-point agenda shoved down the throat of the poorest-performing CM of Punjab … you will be remembered as Jaichand of Punjab’s political history.”
Captain Amarinder Singh formally joined BJP: Randhawa
Captain Amarinder Singh has today formally joined the BJP. Informally and internally, he had joined the BJP long ago but today the former Chief Minister has let the cat out of the bag by announcing formation of a new party and negotiating seats with the BJP. This was stated by senior Congress leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in a press statement released here today.
Randhawa further said that Captain Amarinder Singh had stabbed back not only the Congress party but also the farmers and all Punjabis who had been struggling for the last 11 months. He said that Amarinder Singh had forgotten the sacrifices of the farmers who had lost their lives during the farmers’ struggle even before he joined the BJP.