Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced that he would be leaving the Congress as he won’t be able to put up with the insult. In an exclusive interview with the NDTV and then at an address after he reached Punjab from New Delhi, the Captain spoke on several issues.

On Congress-BJP

For the first time after resigning from the post of Punjab chief minister, Amarinder Singh said he will be leaving the party, but not join the BJP. He kept his future political plans secret. He also cited an internal survey done by the Congress and said the Congress is declining in Punjab. Condemning the protest outside Kapil Sibal’s house for speaking out against the functioning of the party, Amarinder Singh said the party should not sideline the older generation who are actual thinkers, but the party is doing this which is not yielding any good result. 

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On Sidhu-Channi equation

Amarinder Singh said he thinks Sidhu is undermining Channi’s authority. “Sidhu’s job is to run party affairs and Channi’s job is to run the government. There is never any interference. I have been the PCC chief thrice. The two (the Pradesh Congress Committee chief and the chief minister) consult each other, but the final decision is of Channi, who is the chief minister, not Sidhu,” he said.

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On Navjot Singh Sidhu

“I have already said that Sidhu is not the right man for Punjab. And from wherever he contests, I will not let him win,” Amarinder Singh said adding that the kind of situation Sidhu created was never seen before in Punjab.

On meeting with Doval

“There are issues related to security, which I raised. For the last four years, I have been seeing what is happening in Punjab. Drones are coming (from across the border) on a daily basis. There are those which are intercepted, but there may be others which one does not know where they are going…all these issues are related to national security,” Amarinder Singh said on his meeting with national security advisor Ajit Doval

On Charanjit Singh Channi

The Captain expressed confidence in Channi who has been a minister in Amarinder Singh’s Cabinet. “Channi can do a good job but that fellow (Sidhu) needs to allow him to do his work,” Amarinder Singh said.