Congress openly attacks Amarinder Singh ahead of impending exit; urges him not to back BJP

Ahead of Captain Amarinder Singh's impending exit from Congress, AICC Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat strongly countered the charge that he was humiliated. Contending that his "closeness" to BJP leaders raises a question mark on his "secular credentials", Rawat asserted in a press briefing on Friday that Congress always treated him with respect. He said, "He (Singh) was the party's state president thrice and served as the CM twice for about 9 and a half years. If this is humiliation, then Amarinder Singh should compare himself to other senior leaders who got very opportunities in comparison."

A day earlier, Singh made it clear that he will leave Congress as he refuses to be treated in a humiliating manner. The former Uttarakhand CM lamented that the Patiala Urban MLA had distanced himself from the party at a juncture when it is necessary to "save" democracy and individual freedom. Thereafter, he explained the series of events leading to Singh's resignation as the Chief Minister of Punjab. 

The AICC Punjab in-charge remarked, "A conspiracy by Akali Dal resulted in the Beadbi (sacrilege case). Under the leadership of Amarinder Singh, Congress had promised in the run-up to the election that the accused will be punished. Unfortunately, the High Court rejected the state government's stance as the matter was not properly argued before the court. This hurt the sentiments of the people of Punjab and Congress MLAs. People inside and outside the Cabinet started raising questions over the then CM Amarinder Singh for not handling the Beadbi case properly." 

According to him, Singh had failed to act on the 18-point formula in a time-bound manner leading to discontent among a large section of Congress MLAs. Rawat added, "The MLAs said that if you don't call the CLP meeting, we are ready to take any step. He claimed that he didn't know that a CLP meeting was called. I am saying on oath that I tried contacting him for three days but I was unable to talk to our Chief Minister. The people of Punjab will understand this and vouch for it."

Escalating his attack on the former Punjab CM, he affirmed, "There was a perception that the Captain is hand-in-glove with the Akalis. It seems that the statements by Amarinder Singh in the last 2-3 days have been made under some kind of pressure. The ruling party which is discredited in Punjab wants to use Amarinder Singh as a mask. I urge Amarinder Singh to rethink his statements and should not help an anti-Punjab and anti-farmer party like BJP directly or indirectly."

Harish Rawat on Sidhu's resentment

On this occasion, Harish Rawat also weighed in on the present crisis in Punjab Congress as Navjot Singh Sidhu continues to sulk. Barely a week into his tenure as the CM of Punjab, Charanjit Singh Channi encountered dissent within Congress as Navjot Singh Sidhu stepped down as the Punjab Congress president. Observing that "the collapse of a man's character stems from the compromise corner", the former swashbuckling batsman affirmed that he will never compromise on Punjab's future and the agenda for the welfare of the state.

Sources revealed that Sidhu was unhappy not only for being ignored for the CM's post but also for the appointment of Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota and Amar Preet Singh Deol as the DGP and Advocate General, respectively. Asserting that the crisis will come to an end soon, the AICC Punjab in charge revealed, "People say a lot of things in emotion. We know his emotions in some matters. No step will be taken which will be seen as a compromise with his sentiments regarding Punjab. He has understood things. He has held a discussion with the CM and the discussion will continue. I am confident that this issue will be resolved by Punjab Congress at the state level."