Not interested in leaving Punjab, Rahul Gandhi should steer Congress as its leader: Amarinder

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that he was not interested in leaving Punjab for national politics, and added that Rahul Gandhi was suited to lead the party.

Speaking at a conclave to mark the third anniversary of his government, the Chief Minister said the choice of the next leadership rested with the Congress Working Committee (CWC), and everyone wanted the 130-year-old party to revive and regain the ground it had lost.

Underscoring the need for new leadership to emerge, Captain Amarinder said it was not fair to further push Sonia Gandhi, who had been keeping unwell.

"Rahul Gandhi definitely has it in him to steer the party as its leader,t hough at the moment he seems to be insistent about not taking over the party reins. With 70 per cent of India's population comprising the youth, the need for younger leadership could not be ignored and Rahul was equipped to take up the role. Victory and defeat are part of politics and Rahul should not allow one defeat (2019 LS polls) to hold him back," said Captain Amarinder.

"I lost my first two elections, but if I had gone and sat at home I would not be where I am today," he quipped.

On the possibility of him being asked to take over as the new Congress president, Captain Amarinder said he did not want to leave Punjab.

The Chief Minister found the developments in Madhya Pradesh to be a case of 'aaya ram gaya ram', and said it was obvious that money was involved in the whole affair. But this is not the way for the Indian democracy to function, he said, finding poaching to be a reprehensible way of ousting a duly elected government. Such a thing weakens the democratic system, he added.