Former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today said he had a mission to accomplish after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. “I have a mission to accomplish and that is to work for the interest of the state and the country”, he remarked.
Addressing his maiden press conference after joining the party, at the state BJP headquarters here today, Capt Amarinder said he wanted to strengthen the hands of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Home Minister Amit Shah and the party president JP Nadda.
The two-time Punjab Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Modi for opening the Kartarpur Corridor and withdrawal of three agricultural laws. Besides, he added, PM Modi had special fondness for Punjab as whenever as Chief Minister he met him with any demand for the state, he readily accepted it.
Capt Amarinder rapped the Aam Aadmi Party government saying there was no governance in Punjab. He said, what happened in Germany was unbecoming of a Chief Minister. He said it was Raghav Chadha who was running the show under Arvind Kejriwal’s command.
The senior leader said, it was shameful for a government that being just six months in the power it has to bring in the vote of confidence for itself. “That means you have already lost the confidence in your own people”, he taunted the AAP leadership.
The veteran leader expressed doubts about the survival of the AAP government in Punjab, saying he was not sure how long people of Punjab will tolerate this government. “WE have to be battle ready and whenever the occasion demands we will fight it”, he asserted.
The former Chief Minister lashed out at the Sikhs For Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, saying he was trying to malign an entire community. “Punjabis have made a place of pride for themselves world over and the activities Pannu was carrying out was only bringing bad name”, he said.
Capt Amarinder refused to comment on the developments taking place in Rajasthan Congress, saying it was Congress party’s internal matter as he was no longer with that party.Replying to a question on the law and order issue and incidents like RPG attack on the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters, he said, it was a disgrace that the enemies could strike in Mohali, which is so close to Chandigarh.
The former Chief Minister suggested concerted efforts between the state and the central government to tackle multiple issues, particularly the threat to national security. But, he added, this government instead of adopting a cooperative approach had taken to confrontation with the centre which is not good for the state.
State BJP president Ashwani Sharma, senior leaders Sunil Kumar Jakhar, Manoranjan Kalia, Dr Raj Kumar Verka and Harjit Singh Grewal were also present at the press conference.