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Super CM Sidhu dictating terms to Channi: Amarinder
Amarinder, whose resignation paved the way for the new chief minister, questioned his bête noire and Punjab Congress president Sidhu’s interference in Channi’s domain
Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday hit out at the “Super CM” Navjot Singh Sidhu and Congress advisers KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Singh Surjewala for their “ostensible” interference in the newly constituted Congress government led by Charanjit Singh Channi.
Amarinder, whose resignation paved the way for the new chief minister, questioned his bête noire and state Congress president Sidhu’s interference in Channi’s domain, stating that the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) should just decide on party affairs. “I had a very good PPCC president (Sunil Jakhar). I took his advice, but he never told me how to run the government,” said Amarinder in a statement, contrasting it with the way Sidhu was virtually dictating the terms, with Channi simply nodding along.
Amarinder, who had a running battle with Sidhu and several dissenting ministers and legislators for months, quit the CM’s post on Saturday after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) summoned a meeting of the legislature party without informing him. Channi was one of the four disgruntled cabinet ministers who had, at one stage, demanded the two- time chief minister’s removal.
Interacting with some news channels, Amarinder said it was a sad situation for Punjab that Sidhu, who could not handle his own ministry, should be managing the cabinet. “If Sidhu behaves as the super CM, the party won’t function,” he said, adding that under this “drama master’s leadership”, it would be a big thing if the Congress managed to touch double digits in the upcoming assembly elections.
Pointing out that as the CM, he had called the shots and appointed his own ministers, as he knew the capability of each one of them, he questioned how things were being run from Delhi and how Congress central leaders like KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala could decide who is good for which ministry.
‘Will pit a strong candidate to defeat Sidhu’
Amarinder declared that he would fight Navjot Sidhu’s elevation as Punjab’s chief ministers tooth and nail, and was ready to make any sacrifice to “save the country from such a dangerous man”. Amarinder said he will pit a strong candidate against Sidhu in the 2022 assembly polls to ensure his defeat.
Asserting that he will only leave politics on a high, the former CM said: “I was ready to leave after victory, but never after a loss.” He said he had offered his resignation to AICC president Sonia Gandhi three weeks earlier, but she had asked him to continue. “If she had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have,” he said, adding that, “as a soldier, I know how to do my task and leave once I am called back.”
He said he had even told Sonia that he was ready to hang his boots and allow someone else to take over as the CM after leading the Congress to another sweeping win in Punjab. “But that did not happen, so I will fight,” he said, taking strong exception to being subjected to humiliation after a CLP meeting was called in a secretive manner without taking him into confidence.
‘Priyanka, Rahul inexperienced, misguided by advisers’
“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,” he said, adding, “Priyanka and Rahul are like my children… this should not have ended like this. I am hurt.” He said the two sibling were quite “inexperienced” and their advisers were clearly misguiding them.
Indicating that he was still keeping his political options open, the former CM said he was talking to his friends before deciding on his future course of action. “You can be old at 40 and young at 80,” he said, making it clear that he did not see his age as a hurdle.
On allegations of inaccessibility, Amarinder said he had been elected to the Vidhan Sabha seven times, and twice to the Parliament. “There must be something right with me,” he said.
Challenges new setup to throw Badals, Majithia behind bars
Referring to complaints that he was not acting against the Badals and Bikram Singh Majithia in the sacrilege and drugs cases, Amarinder said he believed in letting the law take its course.
“But now these people who were complaining against me are in power; let them throw the Akali leaders behind bars if they can!” he said. Taking a jibe at Sidhu over allegations of inaction against ministers involved in illegal mining, he said: “Those very ministers are now with these leaders!”
While Channi was intelligent and well educated, he, unfortunately, had no experience in managing home affairs, which was critical for Punjab that shares 600-km border with Pakistan, said Amarinder. The amount of weapons and ammunition coming into Punjab from Pakistan is alarming, he said, once again slamming Sidhu for his “close personal relations” with the Pakistani leadership.
