Congress should stop talking about secularism: Amarinder Singh

He said the 'fact' is that the party has 'damaged its own interests' by not trusting him

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday hit back at the Congress for targeting him over his plans to align with the BJP, saying it should stop talking about secularism as it took several saffron party leaders, including Navjot Singh Sidhu, into its fold, and questioned its alliance with Shiv Sena.

Singh's response came as Congress General Secretary Harish Rawat, who is in-charge of Punjab, attacked Singh on Wednesday saying who can stop him if he cannot stay with his old commitment to secularism.

Read | Sidhu calls Amarinder 'architect' of BJP's farm laws

Responding to this, Singh was quoted by his media adviser Raveen Thukral, "stop talking about secularism Harish Rawat-ji. Don't forget Congress took in Navjot Singh Sidhu after he was with the BJP for 14 years. And where did Nana Patole (Maharashtra) and Revnath Reddy (Telangana) come from if not RSS? And Pargat Singh was with Akali Dal for four years."

Referring to Congress' alliance partner in Maharashtra, he said, "and what are you doing with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra? Or are you saying Harish Rawat-ji that it is okay to join forces with so-called communal parties as long as it suits Congress' purpose. What is this if not sheer political opportunism?"

He said Rawat was accusing him of helping the rival Akali Dal but he added, "is that why you think I have been fighting court cases against them for the last 10 years? And why I have won Congress all elections in Punjab since 2017?"

He said Rawat apprehends that he would damage the Congress' interests in Punjab but the "fact" is that the party has "damaged its own interests" by not trusting him and giving Congress into the hands of an "unstable person" like Sidhu "who is only loyal to himself."

Singh on Tuesday night announced that he will launch a new party and hopefully enter into a "seat arrangement" with the BJP in the next year's Assembly elections if the saffron party manages to resolve the farmers' protest.

Watch latest videos by DH here: