NEW DELHI: Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said he will not continue with the Congress, but also made it clear that he is not joining the BJP.
“Can’t stay in a party where I am insulted and not trusted,” Amarinder said and added that he is still exploring options.
Amarinder, who had been engaged in a bitter power tussle with Navjot Singh Sidhu, was unceremoniously removed from the post of Punjab chief minister by the Congress.
Hitting out at Sidhu, Amarinder said “he was a mere crowd-puller and did not know how to carry the team along.”
There have been speculations about Amarinder joining the BJP, especially after his meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday evening.
The former Punjab chief minister lashed out at the Congress leadership and said the party was going downhill.
“Senior leaders are completely ignored in the party and are not given a voice,” Amarinder said.
He accused the Congress leadership of undermining Pakistan threat to Punjab and India.
In a message shared by his media adviser, Amarinder said: “Those undermining Pak threat to Punjab and India are playing into the hands of anti-national forces. Pak-backed elements are killing our soldiers every day, they are pushing weapons into our state through drones. How can we overlook these dangers?”
Amarinder has called Sidhu a threat to Punjab citing his close ties with the Pakistani establishment.
The former Punjab CM also slammed the attack by some Congress workers at the house of Kapil Sibal only because he chose to express views that were not palatable to the party leadership.
“This doesn’t augur well for the party,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, Congress workers had protested outside the house of Kapil Sibal who had slammed the party leadership for the Punjab crisis.
(With inputs from the agencies)