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Gehlot says he hopes Capt Amarinder Singh will work in party’s interest
Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said all Congressmen needed to rise above themselves and act responsibly in the interest of the country and the party when “fascist forces” were a matter of concern for all the countrymen
A day after Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s resignation triggered speculation over his political future with the Congress in the poll-bound state, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said on Sunday that the party high command sometimes has to take decisions in the interest of the party on the basis of the feedback received from the legislators and the general public, and Congress leaders should look within themselves instead of getting upset at losing power. He also added that he hoped that Amarinder Singh won’t do anything to hurt the party.
“I hope that Captain Amarinder Singh will not take any such step which will harm the Congress party. Captain Sahib himself said that the party had kept him as the chief minister for nine and a half years. He has served the people of Punjab by working to the best of his ability,” Gehlot said in one of his many tweets reflecting on the Punjab crisis.
Gehlot also defended the party high command and added that those in the party who get upset at losing power should listen to their conscience.
“I personally believe that the Congress president chooses the CM at the risk of inviting displeasure of several leaders who are in the race for Chief Ministership. However, when the same chief minister is changed, he/she is displeased and holds the decision wrong. One should listen to one’s inner voice in such moments,” he tweeted.
Captain Amarinder Singh was pushed to resign as Punjab CM after the Congress central leadership summoned a meeting of the party MLAs, who had expressed their lack of confidence in Amarinder Singh’s leadership. Reading the writing on the wall, Singh resigned half an hour before the Congress Legislative Party was to meet in Chandigarh. Singh said he felt “humiliated”
“This is the third time they (Congress high command) have called the MLAs. Apparently, they do not have confidence in me and didn’t think I could handle my job. But I felt humiliated at the manner in which they handled the whole affair,” Amarinder Singh said after submitting his resignation on Saturday evening.
He didn’t say that he was considering leaving the Congress party but made it amply clear that he would not accept Punjab Congress chief and his bête noire Navjot Singh Sidhu as the face of the party in the state, clearly drawing battlelines.
Following the developments, speculations were rife if the change of guard in Punjab and Amarinder Singh’s unceremonious ouster will impact Congress prospects in upcoming assembly elections there.
Gehlot said that all Congressmen needed to rise above themselves and act responsibly in the interest of the country and the party when “fascist forces” were a matter of concern for all the countrymen.
