Ahead of Punjab polls, BJP says open to alliance with Amarinder



The on Wednesday reciprocated warmly to former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh’s suggestion for an alliance with the party in the upcoming state assembly polls, lauding him as a patriot and asserting that it is open to joining hands with those who put national interest first.


general secretary and party in-charge of Punjab affairs Dushyant Gautam said Singh, who has announced that he will quit the and launch a party, is moving away from the dynasty and towards nationalism.





Gautam’s comments came a day after Amarinder Singh said he will soon launch his political party and is hopeful of a seat arrangement with the if the farmers’ issue is resolved in their interest.


On his condition of resolving farmers’ issue, the BJP leader said Singh did not talk about ending the farmers’ agitation.


“He talked about farmers’ issues. We are committed to it and are working for the welfare of farmers. When the time comes, both will sit together and discuss farmers’ issues,” Gautam told PTI.


As far as the agitation is concerned, it is politically motivated, he alleged.


“Our main agenda is nationalism and keeping the nation first. All those parties who want to form alliances with us on this agenda are welcome,” he said.


Amarinder Singh was once a soldier and his stand on the issues of national security should be praised, the BJP leader said.


“….He (Amarinder Singh) was a soldier. He knows about the threats to the country and how to secure it is.


“He is patriotic. And whenever it was a matter of national security and security at the borders, we have appreciated his stand,” Gautam said, adding that nationalists are not “untouchables” to the BJP.


Amarinder Singh will not hug the Pakistan army chief to be a “hero” in the Pakistani media, the BJP leader said in a swipe at Punjab president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was seen instrumental in Amarinder’s ouster as Punjab chief minister and fallout with the


Gautam, however, indicated that nothing has been finalised yet as “Amarinder Singh still needs to form his party and put forward his views”.


Singh resigned as the chief minister of Punjab last month after a bitter feud with Sidhu and infighting in the state unit. The party replaced him with Charanjit Singh Channi.


After resigning, Singh had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *