Amarinder Singh and Amit Shah had a one-hour meet. (File photograph)
Amarinder Singh, who quit as Punjab Chief Minister recently amid a bitter feud, had an hour-long meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, setting off speculation about a change of camp. On record, he said they had discussed farmers' issues.
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Under the hashtag #NoFarmersNoFood, Mr Singh tweeted, "Met Union Home Minister Amit Shah ji in Delhi. Discussed the prolonged farmers agitation against Farm Laws and urged him to resolve the crisis urgently with repeal of the laws and guarantee MSP, besides supporting Punjab in crop diversification".
The Congress lashed out at Union Home Minister shortly after the meeting, saying Amit Shah is furious that a Dalit has been chosen as Chief Minister and is keen on revenge on Punjab.
Much drama took place after the meeting, when reports said Mr Singh had left with Mr Shah to meet the Prime Minister. But the reports were found to be incorrect.
Mr Singh's team called the meeting with Mr Shah a "courtesy visit". Dismissing reports of a meeting with the Prime Minister tonight, sources said there is no decision on his joining the BJP as of now.
Earlier, Mr Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral said "too much is being read" into Mr Singh's visit to Delhi, which was to meet "some friends and vacate the Kapurthala House", which is the Punjab Chief Minister's residence in the national capital.
The speculation stemmed from Mr Singh's remarks after quitting that he would "exercise his options when the time comes" and that he would take a decision after talking to "friends". He also indicated that his age was not a hurdle, saying "You can be old at 40 and young at 80".
Mr Singh -- - seen as the Congress's biggest mass leader in the state -- had quit the Chief Minister's post earlier this month after a festering, year-long rebellion by a section of MLAs. His detractors included cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was elevated by the Gandhis to the post of the party chief two months ago.
Yesterday, triggering a fresh shock for the Congress, Mr Sidhu – who hoped to succeed Mr Singh in the top post – resigned, citing the new Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's picks for cabinet. Amarinder Singh, who had labelled Mr Sidhu as "not a stable man", said it was expected.
The events in Punjab set off a renewed unrest by the dissidents in the Congress. Senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi, calling for a meeting of the party's highest decision-making body, the Working Committee, to discuss the election of a full-time party president.
"We are G-23, definitely not Ji Huzoor-23. We will keep raising issues," said former Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who was among the 23 leaders who wrote an explosive letter to Sonia Gandhi last year, calling for sweeping changes in the organisation and its leadership.
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