Less than a fortnight after resigning as Punjab's Chief Minister (CM), Captain Amarinder Singh reached Delhi on Tuesday, 28 September. He is on a two-day visit to the Capital.
Earlier, reports suggested that the veteran Congress leader was likely to meet Union Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah as well as BJP President JP Nadda during his trip.
However, the former CM of Punjab denied the reports and said, "I am here to vacate Kapurthala House, the residence of Punjab CM in New Delhi. I am not going to meet any politician here," Singh said. Kapurthala House is a government house allotted to the Punjab CM in Delhi.
Earlier, Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to Singh, had also denied the reports, saying too much was being read into the former Punjab CM's visit to Delhi.
"He's on a personal visit, during which he'll meet some friends and also vacate Kapurthala House for the new CM. No need for any unnecessary speculation," Thukral wrote on Twitter.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi played down the matter, and said, "Koi gal nahi, Captain Sahab has been our CM, no problem... He must have gone there (Delhi) to discuss Punjab issues," ANI quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, The Indian Express had reported, quoting sources, that Singh was going to meet Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi for a courtesy call, and thank her for the opportunity to have led the government in Punjab.
Singh had resigned as the chief minister of Punjab on 18 September. His resignation came after he was asked to step down from the post by the party high command.
Rebel party leaders had also been demanding Singh's removal ahead of the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
He has since been replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi, who took oath as Punjab chief minister on 20 September.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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