‘Can’t handle insult; won’t remain in Congress’: Amarinder Singh a day after meeting Amit Shah

News Network
September 30, 2021

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday, Sept 30, in a shocking claim on Thursday said that he would be leaving Congress.

"I'm not joining BJP but am leaving Congress, can't handle insult," Singh said in an interview. He also added that Sidhu was a childish man and a PCC chief must have more stability.

On the leadership crisis in the party, he also said that Congress was going down.

"So far I am in the Congress but I will not remain in the Congress. I have already made my position very clear. I will not be treated in this manner," the Captain said in an exclusive interview a day after meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. Soon after the reveal, he removed "Congress" from his Twitter bio.

Pulling no punches, the Captain also predicted the Congress's downfall in Punjab and called Navjot Singh Sidhu a "childish man" who had been given a serious job by the party.

"I have been in politics for 52 years. I have my own beliefs, my own principles. The way I have been treated. At 10.30 am the Congress President says you resign. I didn't ask any questions. I said I will do it just now. At 4 pm I went to the Governor and resigned. If you doubt me after 50 years and my credibility is at stake. If there is no trust, what is the point of me staying in the party?"

Before quitting on September 18, Amarinder Singh had told Sonia Gandhi that he had been humiliated thrice by the party.

"I have made my stand very clear to the Congress that I will not be treated in this manner. I will not stand for it. I have not resigned from the Congress yet, but how can one continue in a place where there is a trust deficit? When there is no trust, one cannot continue," he said.

On the question that all, including the Congress, have for him after his meeting with Amit Shah, Mr Singh asserted: "I am not joining the BJP".

He added: "I have not resigned from the Congress but I will resign. I am not a person who takes split-second decisions. But I am not joining the BJP."

Navjot Sidhu, who played a big role in the two-time Chief Minister's abrupt exit, also stunned the party by resigning as Punjab Congress chief on Tuesday.

"Sidhu is an immature person. I have said this repeatedly that he is not a stable man. He is not a team player. He is a loner. How will he handle the Punjab Congress as its chief? For that you need to be a team player, which Sidhu is not," Mr Singh said.

Describing Mr Sidhu as "childish", he said: "Sidhu is good at creating a scene. He can do what he did in Kapil Sharma's show and get a crowd, but he is not a serious guy. How can a non-serious person be taking serious, major decisions in the running of a party and the state government. He can only do theatrics."

On Rahul Gandhi, who is facing criticism for his handling of the Punjab mess, Mr Singh said: "He wants to bring young blood into the party but refuses to listen to the advice of older leaders."

The Captain predicted doom for the Congress in the Punjab election due early next year.

"The Congress is going downhill. In the current scenario, we see in a recent survey done by the Congress between July and September that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is going up and the Congress is going down. The people clearly don't have any trust in Sidhu. Congress has seen a 20% decline according to that survey," he said.

"This election will be very different with Congress, AAP, Akali Dal, factions of the Akali Dal, and there may be another front emerging too... so, it will be a very different election," he commented. Was this front going to be his? Mr Singh did not answer.

Amid signs of another high-profile exit, the Congress had reached out to Amarinder Singh.

Sources said senior Congress leaders Ambika Soni and Kamal Nath tried to placate Mr Singh. But the Captain, who has been in Delhi since Tuesday, has tellingly not sought any meeting with his party president Sonia Gandhi as he continues his meetings with the "other side".

The former Chief Minister met with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval this morning. Sources say he may have discussed Punjab border security amid political turmoil in the state.

The 79-year-old stalwart had kept the Congress on edge, neither confirming nor denying that he is exploring his options after his exit just four months before state polls.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 11,2024

birensingh.jpg

The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 16,2024

Mangaluru: The Kavoor police in Mangaluru, Karnataka, have arrested three individuals from Kerala in connection with two separate cybercrime cases, including one involving extortion under the guise of a "digital arrest."

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal reported that one of the arrested individuals, Nisar, a resident of Ernakulam district, posed as a CBI officer. He allegedly threatened the complainant with arrest and extorted Rs 68 lakh. A case has been filed under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 308 (2) and 381 (4) of BNS.

In another case, the Kavoor police arrested two men, Sahil K P of Thiruvannur, Kozhikode, and Muhammad Nashath of Mappila Koyilandy, Kerala, in connection with a share trade fraud. The accused are alleged to have deceived the complainant by promising substantial profits from an investment in the stock market. Trusting the fraudsters, the complainant invested Rs 90 lakh, which was subsequently lost. A case has been registered under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 318 (4) and 3 (5) of BNS.

The accused were arrested in Koyilandi and presented before the court. The operation was carried out under the guidance of City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, led by Mangaluru North Sub-Division ACP Srikanth K, Kavoor Inspector Raghavendra Byndoor, Kavoor PSI Mallikarjuna Biradara, and staff members Ramanna Shetty, Bhuvaneshwari, Rajappa Kashibai, Praveen N, and Malatesh. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 15,2024

iranarmy.jpg

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.