Amarinder Singh thank Punjab govt employees for support during CM tenure

Chandigarh [India], September 19 (ANI): On the eve of relinquishing his duties, outgoing Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday thanked officers and employees of the state government for giving their best during his tenure.
"On the eve of relinquishing my duties as CM, I thank the officers and employees of the State for giving their best to put Punjab on the path of peace and progress in the 4.5 years of my Government. May you continue to serve the people of the State with the same zeal and commitment," tweeted Captain Amarinder Singh.
On Saturday, after months of tussle with Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, Amarinder Singh resigned as Chief Minister and also submitted the resignation of his council of ministers to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
The resignation came ahead of the meeting of the Congress legislature party convened by the party leadership.
After registration, even as he dubbed Punjab Congress chief Navjot Sidhu as "anti-national, dangerous, unstable, incompetent and a security threat to the state and the country," Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday also slammed the party's central leadership stating that he was "humiliated into quitting" and that he had not been even informed about the CLP meeting even though he was the leader.
Amarinder Singh said even after the leadership change in Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, he had not expected to be humiliated in this manner "perhaps because of my association with Sonia Gandhi and her children."
He pointed to sweeping wins by the Congress under his leadership since 2017 and said he failed to understand the decision by the party to replace him.
"The people of Punjab were clearly happy with my government," he said, adding that till three-four months ago, the tide was completely in favour of the Congress in Punjab but "they have cut their nose to spite their face, and ended up from a winning to a losing position."
Amarinder Singh said he definitely felt let down and added that he failed to understand the party's objective in letting him go after his success in governing the state for nine-and-a-half years.
Punjab will face assembly polls early next year.
Meanwhile, Congress' in charge of Punjab Harish Rawat said Channi has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party and is set to take over as next chief minister.

Channi, a Dalit leader, was Technical Education Minister in the outgoing Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's cabinet. He will oath as Chief Minister of Punjab tomorrow. (ANI)