“Not Joining BJP, But Won’t Remain In Congress”: Amarinder Singh

New Delhi, Sept. 30: Amarinder Singh said today that he is not joining the BJP but definitely quitting the Congress, confirming what had been speculated since he was forced to quit as Punjab Chief Minister earlier this month.

“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.

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