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Congress calls Amarinder Singh an opportunist, BJP says open to alliance ahead of Punjab elections
HT reported earlier this month that Amarinder Singh was set to launch his own political party and could even consider an alliance or seat adjustment with the BJP.
A day after Amarinder Singh said he would launch a new outfit and hoped to tie up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Punjab assembly elections next year, the Congress on Wednesday termed the move a “betrayal” while the BJP lauded the former Punjab CM as a “patriot”.
Singh resigned as the Punjab CM last month after a bitter tussle with his rival, Navjot Singh Sidhu, amid infighting in the state Congress unit. The party later picked Charanjit Singh Channi as the next chief minister of the state.
“Our doors are open for an alliance, though only our parliamentary board can take the decision,” BJP general secretary and party in-charge of Punjab affairs, Dushyant Gautam, said, adding that the BJP was always ready to join hands with outfits that are nationalistic, concerned about the country and national security.
“He (Amarinder Singh) was a soldier. He knows about the threats to the country and how to secure it is... He is patriotic. And whenever it was a matter of national security and security at the borders, we have appreciated his stand,” he added.
On Singh’s condition of resolving the ongoing farm stir, the BJP leader said Singh did not talk about ending the agitation against three central laws. “He talked about farmers’ issues. We are committed to it and are working for the welfare of farmers. When the time comes, both will sit together and discuss farmers’ issues,” Gautam told PTI.
HT reported earlier this month that Singh was set to launch his own political party and could even consider an alliance or seat adjustment with the BJP. The development could alter the electoral landscape in the upcoming polls in Punjab. After resigning as the Punjab CM, Singh announced his intent to quit the Congress.
The Congress, meanwhile, slammed Singh as an “opportunist”, asserting that allying with the BJP will kill the “secular Amarinder” within him.
“Captain Amarinder Singh is an opportunist leader who only thinks about himself, his family and his friends... He has destroyed himself by announcing a seat arrangement with BJP, whom he has always abused,” said Punjab’s deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
“Punjab does not fear Pakistan or China. If Punjab today faces any threat, then it is from Amarinder Singh,” he added.
Congress general secretary and party’s Punjab in Charge Harish Rawat, too, attacked Singh. “If he (Amarinder Singh) wants to eat crow and go with BJP, he can. Who can stop him if he can’t stay with his old commitment to secularism? He was considered a symbol of “Sarvdharm Sambhav” and was connected to Congress’ traditions for a long time. If he wants to go, he should,” Rawat told news agency ANI after meeting party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.
“Who can forgive BJP that has kept farmers at the borders for 10 months? Can Punjab forgive them for the manner in which farmers’ agitation has been dealt with? His statement is really shocking. It seems he has killed the ‘secular Amarinder’ within him,” he added.
