New Delhi [India], March 11 (ANI): Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday took a dig at the Congress for blaming him for the party's defeat in the recent Punjab assembly elections.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 10 (ANI): In early trends, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and Punjab Lok Congress leader Amarinder Singh are trailing from Chamkur Sahib, Amritsar East, and Patiala seats respectively.

Patiala (Punjab) [India], February 9 (ANI): Former chief minister and Punjab Lok Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh attacked Congress leadership in the state saying that Congress' Chief Ministerial face Charanjit Singh Channi is good enough to become a state minister but not CM and party state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu is an "irresponsible person."

Chandigarh Jan 31 PTI Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal 94 became the countrys oldest candidate to fight elections as he filed his nomination papers from Lambi on Monday Former chief minister Amarinder Singh too filed his nomination papers from Patiala Urban Assembly constituency for the February 20 polls in the state Badal a five-time chief minister completed the paperwork before the returning officer of Malout in Muktsar district officials said With this he broke former Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandans record of being the oldest candidate in the fray the CPIM leader was 92 years old when he fought the Assembly polls in 2016 The 11-time MLA has been ruling Lambi since 1997 Capt Amarinder Singh on the other hand was accompanied by BJPs Punjab election in-charge Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Singh had been winning from Patiala since 2002 on a Congress ticket However the former army man will represent the Punjab Lok Congress a party he floated after exiting the Congress last year The 79-year-old scion of the erstwhile Patiala royal family served as chief minister of Punjab twice He however could not complete his tenure as the Congress unseated him from the post in September amid a bitter power tussle with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu Voting for Punjabs 117 Assembly seats will be held on February 20 and the counting will take place on March 10 PTI CHS VSD CJ CJ

Chandigarh Jan 24 PTI Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday ridiculed Navjot Singh Sidhus claims of fighting the sand mining mafia saying the state Congress president had himself led the rebellion against him with the MLAs who were allegedly involved in the activity This clearly exposed his own interest in sheltering them the former CM said according to a statement Amarinder Singh was removed as the Punjab chief minister in September last year following a bitter power tussle with Sidhu Later the former CM Amarinder floated the Punjab Lok Congress and now contesting the Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP The former Punjab CM said considering that many Congress MLAs whom Sidhu had led in rebellion against him had direct or indirect interest or share in the states sand mafia the ex-cricketer presidents credentials in the matter are patently dubious This coupled with the fact that the PPCC president enjoyed hobnobbing with anti-nationals elements including his close friends in the Pakistan leadership which had even lobbied for his induction to the state cabinet had exposed Sidhus self-interest and his complete apathy to Punjabs interests Amarinder Singh said Rejecting Sidhus allegation that he had failed to take action against the sand mafia during his tenure as the chief minister the former CM said not only had he taken all possible administrative steps he had specifically asked the Congress president for directives for acting against the Congress leaders Why he was not given the necessary direction to take such action asked Amarinder Singh The former CM claimed that the Punjab Congress MLAs about whose ties with the sand mafia he had reported to the Congress president were in direct touch with the party leadership in the run-up to his removal from chief ministership What had shocked him was that instead of taking action against these MLAs who had the support of Sidhu the Congress high command had chosen to sack him said the former chief minister Singh said Sidhus persistent and unsubstantiated attacks against him even after his departure from the Congress showed how insecure the Punjab Congress chief was In his desperation to undermine his political clout and importance in Punjab Sidhu had even forgotten his own party unit which was in a state of total disarray with blatant and open infighting claimed Singh adding that Sidhu and CM Charanjit Singh Channi are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the wipe-out of the Congress in Punjab PTI CHS VSD RDK RDK

Chandigarh Jan 22 PTI Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said Charanjit Singh Channis denial of involvement in illegal sand mining was a total lie and alleged he had received inputs that the CM had a share in the mafia along with other Congress leaders and MLAs From top to bottom right up to the level of senior ministers many people were involved as I had told Sonia Gandhi while I was chief minister She asked me what action I was taking in the matter and I told her I will have to start from the top The one and only mistake I made during my entire tenure was that I did not take any action then out of my sense of loyalty to the Congress since I did not get a go-ahead from Sonia Gandhi said the Punjab Lok Congress PLC leader who was made to resign September last year as the chief minister While Channis involvement in the mining mafia and in the metoo incident had exposed him as a contemptible character unworthy of ruling Punjab Navjot Sidhus mental instability made him completely unfit to run the state Singh alleged terming both the Congress leaders utterly useless Expressing surprise he questioned what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saw in these people and added that the Congresss decision to sideline him for such men was inexplicable A statement quoting an interview to a TV channel said that Singh spoke about Channis metoo case which he said was not pursued by the woman in question as she accepted the then ministers apology Had she wanted to pursue the case I would have taken action against Channi he said adding that his only role in the matter was to ask Channi to apologise to the officer which he did and the apology was accepted by the woman Channi was alleged to have sent an inappropriate text to an IAS officer in 2018 The former chief minister who made it clear that he will contest again from his home constituency of Patiala ruled out any challenge from the Congress or the other parties in the fray saying none of the CM faces or prospective CM candidates have the mental acumen to think about Punjabs future How can a man who claims to talk to God an hour every morning and evening be stable Singh asked referring to Sidhu The PPCC president can go around hugging Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistani army chief as much as he likes but neither is it going to bring peace nor will people tolerate such things when Indian soldiers are being killed at the border every day he said adding that since 2017 Punjab alone had lost 83 soldiers to firing by the neighbouring nation The PLC chief labelled AAPs CM nominee Bhagwant Mann an out-and-out comedian which Punjab with its 600 km-long border with Pakistan did not need The people of Punjab will not be fooled by the antics of the Aam Aadmi Party and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal just as they were not fooled in 2017 he said rejecting any poll surveys putting the party ahead in the state He said the Badals and their Shiromani Akali Dal SAD were also not suitable for the state Singh said it was he as chief minister who had successfully brought the sacrilege cases to the court despite the hurdles and delays in getting them back from the CBI The former chief minister ruled out any post-poll tie-up with either the Congress or the AAP saying the PLC had an alliance with the BJP and the SAD Sanyukt which will definitely win the elections The three parties were working on a common minimum programme which would secure the future of Punjab and its people he said adding that the chief ministerial face of the alliance was yet to be decided PTI CHS VSD AAR

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], January 9 (ANI): Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday announced the names of office bearers for his newly floated party Punjab Lok Congress.

Chandigarh [India], January 7 (ANI): In a scathing attack on former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday termed Amarinder as Centre's "parrot" and warned BJP to stop playing politics or they will get a benefitting reply referring to the growing chorus for the imposition of the President's rule in the state.

New Delhi Dec 28 PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to sound the BJPs poll bugle in Punjab on January 5 and share the stage with the partys new ally and former chief minister of the state Amarinder Singh sources said on TuesdayThe prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate a satellite centre of the Chandigarh-based Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research PGIMER in Punjabs Ferozepur and is likely to address a rally after the event the sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP saidThe rally will be the first to be addressed by the prime minister in Punjab after the repeal of three contentious farm laws of the CentreFarmers staged protests against the laws at the borders of Delhi for almost a year and called off the agitation on January 11 after the legislations were repealed in the winter session of ParliamentModis rally will kick off the campaign of the BJP and its new allies in Punjab for the 2022 state Assembly polls the sources saidSingh whose Punjab Lok Congress has stitched up an alliance with the saffron party for the Punjab polls may also attend the rally they addedIf Singh attends the rally this will be the first time that he and Modi will share the stage after the former Punjab chief minister quit the CongressBesides Modi Union minister and the BJPs poll in-charge for Punjab Gajendra Shekhawat his cabinet colleagues Hardeep Puri and Meenakshi Lekhi are also expected to take part in the rally PTI JTR RC

New Delhi [India], December 22 (ANI): Congress on Wednesday slammed former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh for claiming that the drugs case against Bikram Singh Majithia was 'wrong' saying that he is now supporting convicts, whom he had colluded and accused the SAD leader when he was the state Congress chief for five years.