Amarinder hand in glove with BJP, backstabbed Cong: Randhawa, Pargat

Calling the two-time former chief minister an “opportunist”, Randhawa said that Capt Amarinder always had his and his family and friends’ interests in mind

Chandigarh

Captain Saab has betrayed the (Gandhi) family that gave various positions and always honoured him, said Randhawa.

A day after former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh unveiled his plans to launch his own political party, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and cabinet minister Pargat Singh on Wednesday accused him of being “hand in glove” with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and backstabbing the Congress.

Calling the two-time former chief minister an “opportunist”, Randhawa said that Capt Amarinder always had his and his family and friends’ interests in mind. “Captain Saab has betrayed the (Gandhi) family that gave various positions and always honoured him. Had the Congress not given its support, he would not have remained the chief minister of Punjab for nine-and-a-half years. Now he calls it the worst party,” he said in a statement, accusing him of betraying Punjab.

Randhawa, who also hurled personal accusations at the former CM, blamed him for the Centre’s unilateral move to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) from 15 km to 50 km, from the border. “He (Amarinder) says Punjab is a border state. I want to remind Capt Saab that if it is a border state then why were tiffin bombs and drones coming? Why smuggling of arms and drugs could not be stopped?” he asked. The deputy CM said: “Punjab does not fear Pakistan or China. If the state faces any threat today, it is from Amarinder”. He was accompanied by Amarinder’s one-time political secretary Capt Sandeep Sandhu.

The deputy CM’s stinging attack came a few hours after Capt Amarinder announced his plans to launch a new party and hinted at a possible pre-poll pact with the BJP if the farmers’ issue was resolved. Randhawa was among the four ministers who had rebelled against Amarinder after the state government suffered a legal setback in the Kotkapura police firing case six months ago. Amarinder resigned as the chief minister last month after a bitter tussle with Navjot Singh Sidhu and rebellion by several ministers and MLAs in which the Congress leadership sided with his detractors. The party then appointed Charanjit Singh Channi, one of the four rebel ministers, as the next chief minister.

Asked about Sidhu’s differences with Channi, Randhawa termed it as an internal democracy. “In Congress, we do not stop anyone from voicing his views. We are not like the BJP and the AAP where you are not allowed to speak,” he said.

Training his guns at the former chief minister, cabinet minister Pargat Singh also said that Capt Amarinder was in league with the BJP for the past more than two-and-a-half years. “I have been saying this since then, but many in the party did not believe me at that time. The truth is now coming out,” said the minister, who is a confidant of Sidhu.

BJP hits back at Randhawa

The Punjab BJP hit back at Sukhjinder Randhawa for his statement that Punjab has no threat from Pakistan and China. In statement, party general secretary Subhash Sharma said Randhawa, was taking pro-Pakistan stand on the lines of Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

“Randhawa is holding a sensitive portfolio of home minister of a border state and by stating that state don’t have any threat from Pakistan, he has overlooked all misdeeds of our notorious neighbour,” said Sharma.

How can Randhawa forget how Pakistan is pumping drugs and ammunition into Punjab and was using drones to drop at the borders, he said.