Amarinder Singh hints at more resignations after 5 leaders join BJP, calls it 'tip of iceberg'
Captain Amarinder Singh quit Congress after stepping down as Chief Minister last year. Singh then left the Congress to start his own party, months before the Punjab elections. Since then, Singh has been a critic of the Gandhis, holding them accountable for the party's defeat in the assembly elections.
FollowFormer Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh slammed the Congress and applauded party officials who joined the BJP, calling the move the "tip of the iceberg." Former grand old party ministers Raj Kumar Verka, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sunder Sham Arora, and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, as well as former MLA Kewal Dhillon, have joined the BJP.
"I congratulate Balbir S. Sidhu, Gurpreet S. Kangar, Dr. Raj Kumar Verka, Sunder Sham Arora, and Kewal Singh Dhillon on their decision to join the BJP today." This is only the very top of the iceberg "Amarinder Singh stated this in a tweet.
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His cryptic remark is being seen as a sign of more possible departures from the big old party. The departure of the five leaders from the Congress comes only days after former Punjab president Sunil Jakhar left the party to join the BJP. On May 19, Jakhar was admitted into the BJP in the presence of party national president JP Nadda.
In the Punjab assembly elections earlier this year, the Congress was defeated. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, the state's second largest party, earned a landslide victory. Captain Amarinder Singh quit Congress after stepping down as Chief Minister last year. Singh then left the Congress to start his own party, months before the Punjab elections. Since then, Singh has been a critic of the Gandhis, holding them accountable for the party's defeat in the assembly elections.
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Balbir Sidhu is a three-term MLA from Mohali who served as health minister in the previous Congress-led government. Kangar, a three-term Rampura Phul MLA, served as revenue minister. Verka, a prominent Dalit leader from the Majha area, is also a three-time politician and the minister of social justice and minorities. Meanwhile, former Hoshiarpur MLA Arora was the industry and commerce minister. All four previous Congress ministers were defeated in the recent Punjab assembly elections.
