After being snubbed by the Congress party, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is exploring his options ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
On Wednesday, Singh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in the national capital, triggering speculation about joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to a Zee News report, Singh is also expected to met BJP national president JP Nadda. Reportedly, the former Punjab CM is likely to be inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet as Union Agriculture Minister. The report further said that if Singh refuses to join the saffron party, the BJP central leadership may help Singh to form a new political outfit.
Meanwhile, after the meeting with Amit Shah, Singh took to Twitter and said they discussed the ongoing farmers' protests.
"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," tweeted the former Punjab CM.
According to news agency PTI, the former Punjab chief minister is learnt to have also discussed the internal security situation in Punjab.
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.
Earlier on Tuesday, Singh's media advisor Raveen Thukral had said "too much (is) being read into Captain Amarinder's visit to Delhi".
"He is on a personal visit, during which he'll meet some friends and vacate Kapurthala House (the Punjab Chief Minister's residence in the national capital) ... No need for unnecessary speculation," he had added.
Incidentally, Singh's Delhi visit has come at a time when Navjot Singh Sidhu stepped down as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), plunging the grand old party into a fresh crisis.
