The resignation was submitted by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to the Governor of Punjab, Banwari Lal Purohit at the Raj Bhawan, due to continuous political turmoil. His entire cabinet has also resigned from their posts.
Captain Amarinder Singh addressed the media after submitting his resignation. While interacting with the media, he said that “today, I had told Congress President Sonia Gandhi that I would resign and those who have confidence, make him the Chief Minister.”
He said that meetings of MLAs called again and again and due to this, he was feeling humiliated. He also added that it seems that the party has an element of doubt that he couldn’t run the government and, he had been summoned thrice over the last two months by the Central leadership.
He said that the road to future politics is open as he will talk to the people who are associated with him, and will also consult with them, and will continue to be a part of the Congress Party.
Captain Amarinder Singh said that “in this morning itself I had thought that I would resign and, I had also informed the interim president of the party, Sonia Gandhi, that I would give my resignation as the party did not have trust in me and Sonia Gandhi should make whomever she wants as the CM.” The captain said that “I was feeling humiliated as the legislature party meeting was called thrice in over two months, due to which my leadership is being in doubt.”
After the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh, a meeting of the legislature party has been called at 5 pm and, it is being believed that in this meeting, the election of the leader of the legislature party can be held. MLAs can name Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sunil Jakhar for the next CM in this meeting.
Last Saturday, the resignation was submitted by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani. This year, BS Yeddyurappa also resigned from the post of Karnataka Chief Minister, and Pushkar Dami replaced Tirath Singh Rawat as CM in Uttarakhand.
About CM qualifications:-
The Constitution of India sets the qualification principle as to be eligible for Chief Minister is that he must be:-
a Citizen of India; a member of the state legislature ( if he has not ceased to be a member of the legislature, then he must be elected as a member of state legislature within six months from the date of their appointment.) and of 25 years of age or more and be a graduate.A chief minister is elected for five years and holds his office during the pleasure of the governor.
About Amarinder Singh:-
He was elected as the Member of the Punjab legislative assembly for five terms representing Patiala (thrice), Samana, and Talwandi Sabo for once each. He was also in a position as a member of the Standing Committee on Defence and Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Defence from September 1, 2014 – November, 23,2016.
In 2015, he was elected as President of the Punjab Congress and In 2016, he resigned from Lok Sabha on 23 Nov. 2016 to dedicate himself to Punjab Assembly Elections. The Assembly Elections of 2016 in Punjab won by Congress with a majority.
Captain Amarinder Singh took the oath as Punjab Chief Minister and he became 26th CM of Punjab by replacing Parkash Singh Badal.
Captain Amarinder Singh is also an intellectual in writing and has written some books such as –
- A Ridge Too Far (war and Sikh history),
- Lest We Forget,
- The Last Sunset: Rise and Fall of Lahore Durbar, and
- The Sikhs in Britain: 150 years of Photographs
His most recent work includes:-
- Honour and Fidelity: India’s Military Contribution to the Great War 1914 to 1918 released on 6 December 2014, in Chandigarh and
- The Monsoon War: Young Officers Reminisce – 1965 India-Pakistan War-1965 Indo-Pak war memoirs
He also has hobbies in sports like Polo, Riding, Cricket, Squash, and Badminton.
