Amarinder Singh rules out joining BJP, but wont stay in Congress

Amarinder Singh, the former Congress chief minister who resigned
earlier this month saying he was open to options, said on Thursday that he is
not joining the BJP but definitely quitting the Congress. “So far I am in the
Congress but I will not remain in the Congress. I will not be treated in this
manner,” Amarinder Singh told NDTV on Thursday, just a day after meeting Union Home
Minister and BJP’s chief poll strategist Amit Shah at his residence in New
Delhi.

Also Read | Not a stable man: Amarinder Singh on Navjot Sidhu after he resigns as Punjab Congress chief

The veteran Congress leader further said that the Congress is
going down in Punjab and called Navjot Singh Sidhu, the man primarily
responsible for Amarinder being pushed out of the chief ministerial post, “a
childish man given a serious job”.

Amarinder Singh said that he has been in politics for 52 years
and the way he was treated by the Congress was humiliating. He further said
that he had told Sonia Gandhi that he had been humiliated by the party thrice. “At
10:30 am the Congress President says you resign. I didn’t ask questions. At 4
pm I went to the Governor and resigned. If you doubt me after 50 years and my
credibility is at stake if there is not trust, what is the point of me staying
in the party.

Also Read | Can never compromise: Navjot Singh Sidhu resigns as Punjab Congress chief

Pulling no punches, the former Army officer said, “Navjot Singh
Sidhu is good at creating a scene. He can do what he did in Kapil Sharma’s show
and get a crowd, but he is not a serious guy.”

The former Punjab chief minister also predicted doom for the Congress
in Punjab in the upcoming Assembly elections. The Congress is going downhill,
said Singh quoting survey numbers which according to him show Congress seeing a
20% decline.

Amarinder Singh met National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval
on Thursday morning. Sources say that Singh discussed the security situation in
Punjab amid the political turmoil in the border state.