Captain calls Rahul-Priyanka inexperienced, Sidhu 'dangerous man'

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday called Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra "inexperienced", and said he will pit a strong candidate against state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu in the upcoming Assembly polls.

Amarinder Singh had resigned as the Punjab CM recently amid infighting in the state Congress.

In a series of interviews, he said, "Priyanka and Rahul are like my children. This should not have ended like this. I am hurt."

"I would not have taken MLAs on a flight to Goa or some place. That is not how I operate. I don't do gimmicks and the Gandhi siblings know that is not my way," he said in a statement.

The "Gandhi children" were quite "inexperienced" and their advisers were clearly "misguiding" them, the Congress leader asserted.

Singh said he will fight Sidhu's elevation to the Punjab chief ministership "tooth and nail", adding that he was ready to make any sacrifice to save the country from such a "dangerous man".

He will pit a strong candidate against the PPCC president in the 2022 Assembly polls to ensure his defeat, Amarinder Singh said.

Singh said he had even told Congress president Sonia Gandhi that he was ready to hang his boots and allow someone else to take over as the CM after leading the Congress to another sweeping win in Punjab.

"But that did not happen, so I will fight," he asserted taking strong exception to his "humiliation" by calling a Congress Legislative Party in a secretive manner.

The former CM said he is still keeping his political options open and talking to his friends before deciding on his future course of action.

"You can be old at 40 and young at 80," he said, making it clear that he did not see his age as a hurdle.