Forced by the Congress high command to put in his papers as Punjab chief minister, veteran leader captain Amarinder Singh is ready with a plan to hit back at the party and his bete noire PCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu immediately. Amarinder is trying to turn the focus on to the issue of national security in an apparent effort to make it a talking point in the coming Assembly elections.
The 79-year-old politician had made it clear as he resigned that he was not going down without a fight. Amarinder stressed in a series of interviews that he was worried about the impact the political developments would have on national security considering that Punjab is a border state and is already riven by intense protests by farmers.
Significantly, he trained his guns at Sidhu, who is now effectively the face of the Congress in the state elections that are due a few months from now, painting him as someone who cannot be trusted in a position of power on account of his alleged proximity to Pakistan.
“Sidhu will be a disaster if he is made chief minister. I will oppose it for the sake of my country. Sidhu is friends with Imran Khan and the Pakistan Army chief. Sidhu as CM will be a matter of national security. He is incompetent and unstable,” Amarinder said in one of the interviews, a line repeated in other media interactions as well.
The outgoing chief minister also wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, stating that he was anguished at the political events of the last five months, which he stressed were not based on full understanding of the national imperatives of Punjab and its key concerns.
“Notwithstanding my personal anguish, I hope this (the political developments) won't damage hard earned peace and development in Punjab and the efforts I have been focusing on, which continue unabated, ensuring justice to one and all,” he wrote.
“Did my best as CM of Punjab, which is a border state with many geo-political and other internal security concerns, which I tried to handle effectively without any compromise. Happy that the state remained fully peaceful, with complete communal harmony,” he said.
Amarinder further wrote that the people of Punjab are looking up to the Congress for its mature and effective public policies, which not only reflect upon good politics, but also address the concerns of the common man that are specific to the border state.
His comments have given rise to speculation on whether this comprises an attempt to make national security a talking point in the election while projecting Sidhu as a threat to the country's security interests. There is also a buzz whether the remarks are an indication that the veteran leader could be considering the BJP as an option.
Interestingly, the BJP, latching on to Amarinder's statements, said the allegation against Sidhu was a serious one and demanded to know why the Gandhis were silent on it.
“We demand that the Congress speaks on this issue and puts forth its version. Will the Congress take cognisance of these allegations and take action on it?” said BJP leader Prakash Javadekar.
