By Asia Samachar | Punjab, India |
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has thrown in the towel in the on-going feud to control the Congress Party in the state. He submitted his resignation to Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh today (Sept 18).
“I feel humiliated,” he told reporters during which he reminded them that he had been involved in politics for 52 years.
The move comes as the party, led by Sonia Gandhi, called for a meeting of its legislature party in which the MLAs are expected to elect their new leader. The salvo comes as more than 50 Congress legislators from Punjab wrote to Sonia to seek Amarinder’s removal.
Making reference to Punjab lawmakers huddle called by the party high command, Amarinder noted it was the third such meeting for the MLAs.
“It appears that there is an element of doubt over me that I could not run a government. I feel humiliated…You called meeting of MLAs three times within two months, so I decided to resign,” he told reporters.
In mid-July, former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu was appointed the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief, a direct blow for Amarinder in the fight for supremacy in Punjab Congress.
Former PCC president Sunil Jakhar, once an associate of Amarinder, was among the names being considered for the chief minister’s post, according to The Indian Express quoting unnamed sources.
So, what is the problem with Captain Sahib? The same newspaper listed out five reasons why he had to step down as Punjab CM. They are: 1) Inaction on sacrilege, drugs, and the Badals; 2) inaccessibility; 3) allowing bureaucrats to run the government; 4) surveys suggesting waning popularity, putting a question mark on his ability to steer the party to victory in the 2022 assembly elections; and 5) internal revolt with dissidents led by PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu and the Majha brigade of three ministers — Tript Rajnder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria and Sukhjinder Randhawa — managed to rally together the majority of legislators against the CM.
“One of the major gripes of Congress MLAs was that it was impossible to meet the Chief Minister who surrounded himself with a coterie. It’s a charge that he faced in his previous tenure as well. But this time, it became more aggravated when he stopped going to the Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh altogether, and moved his residence from the city to a farmhouse on the outskirts,” the report noted.
In a tweet earlier today, Jakhar says: “Kudos to Sh @RahulGandhi for adopting Alexandrian solution to this punjabi version of Gordian knot. Surprisingly, this bold leadership decision to resolve Punjab Congress imbroglio has not only enthralled congress workers but has sent shudders down the spines of Akalis.”
RELATED STORY:
Has Navjot Sidhu slayed the dragon of Punjab politics? (Asia Samachar, 19 July 2021)
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