Amarinder quits Congress, launches Punjab Lok Congress; Slams Gandhi siblings, Sidhu

New Delhi: A month after stepping down as Punjab chief minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh formally resigned from the Congress Party on Tuesday. He also announced the name of his new political party which will contest the Assembly elections in the state due early next year: the Punjab Lok Congress. Announcing the party's name in a Twitter post, Capt. Singh said the approval for the party’s registration was still pending with the Election Commission and that it will get its poll symbol later. The veteran politician announced the new party’s name shortly after he quit the Congress, about one-and-a-half months after bitter infighting in the party’s state unit forced him to give up the chief ministership.

In a seven-page resignation addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi , Capt. Singh referred to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu as “an acolyte of the Pakistani deep state” and the Congress Party’s former general secretary in charge of Punjab, Mr Harish Rawat, as “perhaps the most dubious individual” he made the acquaintance of.

Lashing out at Mr Sidhu, Capt. Singh wrote: “Despite my profound reservations and over the unanimous advice of almost all the MPs from Punjab, you [Sonia Gandhi] chose to appoint an acolyte of the Pakistani deep state, Navjot Sidhu, who had publicly hugged Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan, as president of the Punjab Congress Committee.” He also referred to Mr Sidhu in the letter as a “person of unstable mind”.

He charged the Congress with carrying out a “midnight conspiracy” at your (Sonia Gandhi) “children’s behest”. He accused Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of patronising Navjot Sidhu, “an unstable individual”, and added that Mrs Gandhi had turned a blind eye to all this. He further wrote: “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.” Capt. Amarinder Singh also put on record that as soon as Mrs Sonia Gandhi asked him to resign he put in his papers “without batting an eyelid”. He also added that he remains hurt that he was made aware of the CLP’s decision through Twitter rather than a personal missive.

In his seven-page resignation letter, the old war horse also detailed his 52 years in public life. He mentioned Operation Bluestar, the 1985 Punjab Accord, Operation Black Thunder and his relationship with the Congress Party spanning over five decades. He recalled the Assembly, parliamentary and local body elections fought by the Congress under his leadership in recent years. He even wrote: “I do hope that no other senior Congressperson is subjected to the ignominy that I was put through.”

Detailing his future plans, the 79-year-old veteran leader said that he was “neither tired nor retired”. He also wrote: “I feel I have a lot to give and contribute to my beloved Punjab. I intend to soldier on and not fade away.”