Chandigarh: Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday called Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra “inexperienced” and also threatened to pit a strong candidate against state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in the upcoming assembly polls.
In no-holds-barred remarks, he called Sidhu a drama master and a dangerous man, accusing him of behaving like a “Super CM” with the new chief minister, Charanjit Singh Channi, “simply nodding along”.
Singh resigned as chief minister on Saturday, after being locked in a bitter leadership fight for months with Sidhu. He submitted his resignation just ahead of the Congress Legislature Party meeting, which he said was called in a secretive manner.
“I would not have taken MLAs on a flight to Goa or some place. That is not how I operate. I don’t do gimmicks and the Gandhi siblings know that is not my way,” the Congress veteran said, in a possible reference to other states where the CMs have resorted to shows of strength.
Singh said he will only leave politics on a high. I was ready to leave after victory but never after a loss, he said. He reiterated that his options are still open.
The former CM said he had offered his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi three weeks earlier but she asked him to continue. If she had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have, he said. As a soldier, I know how to do my task and leave once I am called back.
“You can be old at 40 and young at 80,” he added, making it clear that he did not see his age as a hurdle.
Also read: Did Inaction Against the Badals Lead To Amarinder Singh’s Unceremonious Exit?
Singh ridiculed the way Punjab was being run from Delhi now, the statement said. He said as the chief minister he had called the shots and appointed his own ministers as he knew the capabilities of each one. He questioned how Congress leaders like K C Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala could decide who is good for which ministry.
The remark comes ahead of the expected expansion of the new cabinet. On Tuesday, Channi and the two deputy chief ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and O P Soni flew to Delhi to discuss the composition of the new cabinet. Sidhu travelled with them.
Mentioning the ostensible interference by Sidhu in the CM’s domain, Singh said the PPCC chief should just decide on party affairs. He claimed Sidhu was virtually dictating the terms, with Channi simply nodding along .
“I had a very good PPCC president. I took his advice but he never told me how to run the government,” he said, referring to Sunil Jakhar.
He called Channi intelligent and well educated, but added that he had no experience in managing the home department, critical for Punjab that shares a 600-km border with Pakistan.
Referring to complaints that he had not taken arbitrary action against the Badals in the 2015 desecration case, the former CM said he believed in letting the law take its course.