R Krishna Das
High on emotional connect, strong on religious sentiment and shrewd on political wisdom, Captain Amarinder Singh’s patriotism can never be in doubt.
And this is the character of the statesman that propels him to alert the political corridors before promoting Navjot Singh Sidhu as his successor. Singh has raised concern over the National security if Sidhu is elevated to the constitutional position in Punjab given his close association with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff Bajwa.
Captain Singh yesterday tendered his resignation as the Chief Minister of Punjab. The reasons—humiliation over political developments in Punjab Congress that made him emotional. Position and post are not significant for the Maharaja (titular) of Patiala. For, he is the person who has left his resignation on the table of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and left.
Deeply hurt with the Operation Blue Star in 1984 when the Indian army stormed the Akal Takht in the Golden Temple, Amarinder Singh resigned not only from the Congress party but also from the Parliament.
Amarinder Singh was near Shimla, playing a round of golf when the news about the army operation broke. He immediately planned to go to New Delhi and express his grievances with Congress high command. While the other Sikh Congress leaders were reluctant, Amarinder along with senior leader Gurdarshan Singh reached the National capital facing tough challenges. Passing through Punjab at that point of time was highly risky specially for the Congress leaders.
Khushwant Singh in an authorised biography Captain Amarinder Singh: The People’s Maharaja wrote, Prime minister Indira Gandhi, who had evidently not taken Amarinder’s earlier assertions of quitting seriously, demanded his reasons for resigning from Parliament and the party. He reminded her of their previous conversation and emphasised the very strong association of the Patiala family with the Sikh religion and its related history. She then asked him to rethink.
Not used to hearing a “no”, Indira Gandhi got up from her chair and stormed out of the room, leaving Amarinder on his own. In a dilemma to decide between his religion, political future and close association with the Gandhi family, Amarinder left his resignation on her table and walked out of the room soon after.
Afterall, the Akal Takht is emotionally attached with the Patiala royal family. The village Mehraj now Bathinda district was founded by Amarinder’s ancestors on the advice of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, who had built the Akal Takht early in the seventeenth century.
