Amarinder Singh to meet Amit Shah in Delhi today. Know why it’s significant
Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh will meet Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the issues related to Centre’s farm laws due to which farmers, mostly from the northern state, are protesting near Delhi border.
Singh held a press conference on Wednesday where he announced the formation of a new political party and about his meeting with Shah.
“Tomorrow I am going to meet home minister Shah and 25-30 people will go with me,” he said.
The Congress leader’s gesture was welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Party general secretary Tarun Chugh said the Centre has been always open to talks with farmers and has welcomed any intervention to resolve the deadlock.
Singh’s meeting with Shah assumes significance as he has not ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the BJP ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab provided the farmers’ issues are resolved.
“I think I can help in finding a solution as I have been the chief minister of Punjab and am also an agriculturist,” Singh said yesterday.
The BJP too had reciprocated that the party would wait for him to announce his party; however, said it was open to alliance with anyone who puts the nation’s interest first.
Meanwhile, addressing the media in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Amarinder Singh did not share the name of his political outfit, but said they will contest the upcoming elections from all 117 assembly seats in Punjab.
“When the time comes we will fight all 117 seats, whether we fight in adjustment or we fight on our own only time will tell… Plenty of Congress workers is coming in… We are waiting for an appropriate moment,” Amarinder Singh said.
Singh resigned last month as the chief minister of Punjab and announced that he will be quitting the Congress after months of a rift with party’s state unit chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.
He had resigned ahead of Congress legislature party meeting which was called to find a solution to end infighting in the ruling Congress in the state. Singh was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi as the chief minister of the state.
Punjab is slated to go through assembly polls in 2022. In 2017 Assembly polls, Congress had won an absolute majority in the state by winning 77 seats and ousted the SAD-BJP government after 10 years.
Aam Aadmi Party emerged as the second-largest party winning 20 seats in 117-member Punjab Legislative Assembly.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) could only manage to win 15 seats while the BJP secured three seats.