NEW DELHI: Amarinder Singh, who resigned as the Punjab chief minister on Saturday, has criticised the Congress leadership for the political crisis in the state that led to his resignation.
The former Punjab chief minister said he failed to understand the Congress’s decision to replace him despite the party and government performing well under his leadership.
Live updates: Punjab Congress crisis
“Fail to understand @INCIndia’s decision. We won all polls in Punjab since 2017. People were clearly happy with my govt. But party leaders have cut their nose to spite their face, and ended up from a winning to a losing position,” said a tweet by Amarinder’s media advisor Raveen Thukral.

Amarinder’s statement comes hours after he submitted his resignation as the Punjab chief minister, saying he “felt humiliated” with the recent developments in the state.
“I feel humiliated by the way talks transpired. I spoke with the Congress president this morning, told her that I will be resigning today … This is the third time in recent months that this has happened which is why I decided to quit,” Amarinder said after submitting his papers to governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Over 50 Congress MLAs had written to Sonia seeking that Amarinder be replaced as chief minister. The move capped months of fractious feud between him and Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Earlier today, Amarinder spoke to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and expressed his anguish over the “humiliation” meted to him.
Talking about his conversation with the Congress chief, Amarinder said that Sonia apologised to him after he expressed his desire to quit.
‘Sidhu has Pak connections’
Meanwhile, Amarinder said that he will oppose any move to make Sidhu the chief ministerial face of the party in the state, saying that he is going to be a disaster and that he has a connection with the Pakistan establishment.

“For the sake of my country, I’ll oppose his [Navjot Singh Sidhu] name for CM of Punjab. It’s a matter of national security. Pakistan PM Imran Khan is his friend. Sidhu has a relation with army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa,” Amarinder said in an interview to ANI hours after stepping down.
“If the Congress decides to pitch him as the chief minister of Punjab, I will oppose it. Pakistan has been responsible for sending arms, drones, explosives to our state. We have a common border and when you know the bigwigs at top, it becomes a matter of national security, so I will oppose it and I will not allow him,” Amarinder said.
Describing the Punjab Congress chief as “incompetent”, Amarinder said that Sidhu is going to be a disaster for the state
Amarinder also said that even though he has stepped down from the post of chief minister, he is not quitting politics and will continue to fight for the issues affecting Punjab.
Months of tension
Sidhu has been at loggerheads with Amarinder Singh ever since he quit the Punjab cabinet as a minister in 2019. He had become more vocal in his views in the last some months.
Sidhu’s principal strategic adviser and former IPS officer Mohd Mustafa in a tweet said it is the time to have a “Congress CM” after a “long agonising wait” of four-and-half years.
Last month, four ministers and around two dozen party legislators had raised the banner of revolt against the Punjab chief minister and said they had no faith in Amarinder Singh’s ability to honour unfulfilled promises.
Sidhu, who has been eyeing the chief minister’s post, however, is unlikely to be a probable choice for the chief minister’s replacement, sources pointed out.
(With inputs from PTI)