Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had not spoken out against his successor after his unceremonious exit in September - until Saturday. In response to a tweet by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi about meeting farmers on controversial agricultural laws, the former Chief Minister who is also popularly known as "Captain" pointed out that discussions with farmers were nothing new, that they had been a regular thing when he was heading the Punjab government.
In the video tweet, Mr Channi said, "Today, I spoke with kisan union leader Balbir Singh Rajewal ji and discussed about the three farm laws imposed by GoI (government of India) on us."
Amarinder Singh's spokesperson, Raveen Thukral, replied in a rather strong statement that Mr Channi was "misleading" farmers with the claim that seemed to indicate only he was speaking with farmers and not the previous Chief Minister.
"My government did all this, Charanjit Singh Channi. We spoke to farmer leaders on farm laws and passed our own amendment laws in the assembly too. But the Governor is sitting over them and he will sit over any new laws. Please don't mislead farmers with false promises," Mr Thukral said, quoting Amarinder Singh.
After his exit, Amarinder Singh has taken a path different from the Congress, one which is being seen as a direct challenge to the Congress. He has said he will launch a new party and will speak with the BJP and others for seat-sharing for the assembly election next year.
The former Chief Minister denied reports that he was engaged in backchannel talks with senior Congress leaders, who want him to stay in the party.
"I want to build a strong collective force in the interest of Punjab and its farmers," Amarinder Singh's spokesperson tweeted, quoting him.
Amarinder Singh's move is being seen as highly threatening to the Congress. A vote split may happen if he fields candidates of his new party against the Congress.
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