Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday, 30 September, stated that he is leaving Congress, but not joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"(I am) not joining BJP but will quit Congress. Can't stay in a party where I'm insulted and not trusted. Still exploring options," Singh had said on Thursday.
Asserting that he has made his stand 'very clear' to the party, he expressed, "I have not resigned from the Congress yet, but how can one continue in a place where there is a trust deficit," NDTV quoted.
The former CM stressed that in view of the absence of trust within the party, he cannot continue.
Criticising the path that the party is treading on, he also cited a survey undertaken by the party recently and said that it indicated AAP's rise and Congress' decline by 20 percent, NDTV reported.
'Party Going Downhill'
Singh said that party is going downhill, with senior leaders being completely ignored and not given a voice.
"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," Singh added, speaking to NDTV.
Singh's comments came a day after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence, amid widespread speculation about him joining the BJP. However, shortly after the meeting, Singh's media adviser Raveen Thukral shared a photo of the duo on Twitter and quoted the leader, saying that the meeting was to discuss the farmers' protest against farm laws.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Jitin Prasada took the opportunity on Friday to hit out at Congress, saying, according to ANI:
"It's evident that war veterans have been shown the way out, while those who talk about dividing the country and say that Kashmir is not part of India are becoming advisers. So you can understand what is happening (in Congress)."
Singh Continues His Criticism of Sidhu
On Thursday, Singh went on to echo his earlier reproach towards Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had a major hand in Singh's abrupt exit, calling him a 'childish' person and a 'mere crowd-puller.'
He went on to question, "how can a non-serious person be taking serious, major decisions in the running of a party and the state government?'
Earlier in the week, Singh had called Sidhu's destabilising resignation from the post of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief 'sheer drama'.
"I had said from the very first day that he is an unstable man, and you have an unstable man calling the shots in a border state," the former CM stated on Tuesday.
Former Punjab CM in Delhi
Meanwhile, Singh also met National Security Adviser Ajit Doval during his visit in Delhi and discussed the security situation in the state of Punjab on Thursday.
The senior leader was spotted at the Delhi airport in the evening on Thursday. 'He will leave shortly for Punjab,' news agency ANI reported.
(With inputs from ANI and NDTV.)
(Update: An earlier version of this story had incorrectly mentioned that Amarinder Singh removed a reference to the Congress from his Twitter bio. The error is regretted.)
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