India / Amarinder Singh announces 'Punjab Lok Congress' as the name of his new party

Mohali: Former Punjab Chief Minster and Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday tendered his resignation from the party on the pretext that he was hurt by conduct of party president Sonia Gandhi and her children — Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra Gandhi.

He also announced name for his new party as ‘Punjab Lok Congress’.

In his letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, Capt. Amarinder said he was deeply hurt by her and her children conduct over the past few months. Pointing out that he was tendering his resignation from the Indian National Congress in the interest of Punjab and the country, Capt. Amarinder said “I actually felt deeply hurt by your conduct and that of your children who I still deeply love as much as my own children, having known their father, since we were in school together since 1954, which is for 67 years now.” He said that he hoped that no other senior Congressperson is subjected to the ignominy that he was put through.

Capt. Amarinder asserted that during the four and half years he ran a good, clean and transparent administration. In his letter, Capt Amarinder revealed that Congress leaders were involved in illegal sand mining. “..As far as the issue of illegal sand mining was concerned the offenders unfortunately were the substantive bulk of Congress MLAs and Ministers, including an overwhelming number in the current government. One of my enduring regrets would remain as to why I did not take some of them to task. The thought that it would embarrass the party held me back. However, I do intend making the list of these people public as this has been provided to me by the government of Punjab and State Intelligence from time to time,” he wrote.

Hitting out at state party president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Capt. Amarinder said “..despite my profound reservations and over the unanimous advice of almost all the MPs from Punjab, you chose to appoint an acolyte of the Pakistani deep state Navjot Sidhu who had publicly hugged the Pakistan Army Chief Gen Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan, as the President of the Punjab Congress Committee. Khan and Bajwa are the people responsible for sending terrorists across the border to kill Indians. Sidhu's only claim to fame was that he would abuse me and my government on a regular basis... Unfortunately rather than being reined in, he was patronised by Rahul and Priyanka..”

“..the most egregious act was the midnight conspiracy carried out against me at your and your children's behest by calling a Congress Legislature Party meeting over my head in the dead of the night and that too through Twitter. It was my prerogative as the CLP leader to have called the meeting if the AICC desired it. It was only early next morning that a colleague informed me that such an outrageous act has been committed,” he wrote.

Capt. Amarinder also revealed the name of his party as ‘Punjab Lok Congress’. “The Election Commission has no objection to the proposed name, Punjab Lok Congress,” he said, adding that the party will be formally launched later.

Capt. Amarinder had on September 18 quit from the post of Chief Minister, after the Congress high command cornered him into resigning from his post.