Amarinder Singh seems to be under pressure: Harish Rawat

New Delhi, Oct 01: Congress's Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat said on Friday that Captain Amarinder Singh seems to be under some pressure amid a spiraling crisis in the Punjab.

"No facts in reports that state Captain Amarinder Singh was insulted by Congress. It appears from Captain's recent statements that he is under some sort of pressure. He should rethink, and not help BJP directly or indirectly," said AICC in-charge of Punjab, Harish Rawat, in Dehradun.

"All that has been done by the Congress party till now is to protect the respect and dignity of Captain Amarinder Singh and increase the party's chances (in 2022 assembly polls) in Punjab," he added.

Alleging that the former Punjab chief minister was playing into the hands of people with whom he had no ideological ties, Rawat said Singh should have stood with the Congress leadership to save democracy.

''His proximity with (Union home minister) Amit Shah and some other BJP leaders puts his secular credentials in doubt,'' he said at a press conference here.

The senior Congress leader on Thursday scotched speculation of his joining BJP but said he will quit the Congress, which he asserted was going downhill with senior leaders being ignored.

A day after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah which triggered speculation of his joining the BJP, Singh said he would leave the Congress as he had been "utterly humiliated" and was not trusted.

"I will not join BJP (but) I will not stay in the Congress party," the 79-year-old leader said, adding that he was still thinking through his options in the interest of Punjab as security of the state was the predominant priority for him.
He had resigned as chief minister on September 18 after accusing the Congress of humiliating him.

"I will not be treated in this humiliating manner...I will not take such insults," he said, adding that his principles and beliefs do not allow him to stay in the Congress any longer.

Amarinder Singh's exit has plunged the state and the grand old party in a deep crisis as Punjab was one of the few states where the Congress government seemed to be stable since last elections, without much rumblings.