Will not remain in Congress, but won’t join BJP, says Amarinder Singh

A day after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in Delhi, former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh has said that he is not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Amarinder Singh said today that he is not joining the BJP but definitely quitting the Congress, confirming to NDTV what had been speculated since he was forced to quit as Punjab Chief Minister earlier this month.

“So far I am in the Congress but I will not remain in the Congress. I have already made my position very clear. I will not be treated in this manner,” the Captain said in an exclusive interview a day after meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who resigned earlier this month amid a bitter turmoil in Punjab Congress, met Amit Shah at his residence on Wednesday, triggering speculation of him joining the BJP ahead of the assembly elections. On Thursday, Amarinder Singh also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Delhi. Amarinder Singh arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, the same day Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned as the Punjab Congress chief. After meeting Amit Shah for about 45 minutes, Amarinder Singh tweeted, “Met Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers’ agitation against #FarmLaws & urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with the repeal of the laws & guarantee MSP, besides supporting Punjab in crop diversification. #NoFarmersNoFood.” Soon after the reveal, he removed “Congress” from his Twitter bio. Pulling no punches, the Captain also predicted the Congress’s downfall in Punjab and called Navjot Singh Sidhu a “childish man” who had been given a serious job by the party.

The Congress has reportedly been trying to reach out to Singh, who had claimed that he had suffered “humiliation” and stepped down as the CM of the state. NDTV reported, quoting sources, that senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni and Kamal Nath are trying to placate the leader.