Met Amit Shah over farm laws: Amarinder Singh amid switch buzz

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday, triggering speculation over his future plans ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.

After his meeting that lasted for about 45 minutes, Singh tweeted “met Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers’ agitation against #FarmLaws & urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with the repeal of the laws & guarantee MSP, besides supporting Punjab in crop diversification. #NoFarmersNoFood.” However, the politically significant meeting, which came days after Singh resigned as Punjab chief minister, raised speculation over his future plans ahead of the assembly polls with some political analysts viewing it as an indication that Singh may be seeking the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Sources said the former Punjab chief minister is learnt to have also discussed the internal security situation in Punjab with Shah. Singh has been claiming that instability in Punjab may give Pakistan a handle to create disturbance in the border state. He has also accused Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu of being “close to (Pakistani Prime Minister) Imran Khan” and alleged that he is “dangerous” for the border state. Singh arrived in the national capital on Tuesday.

There are reports that Amarinder may call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but there is no official confirmation.

According to the sources, the veteran Congress leader may also meet some of the ‘Group of 23’ leaders, including Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Singh’s meeting with Shah assumes significance as the Congress leader has not divulged his future plans but had asserted that he has not quit politics and would fight till the end. Singh has also said that there were several options before him. He had also launched a scathing attack on his bete noire, Sidhu, who was appointed as the president of the Punjab unit of the Congress.

Sidhu quit as the Punjab Congress chief on Tuesday.

(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