Amarinder refutes reports about his governorship

BJP leader and former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday refuted media reports claiming that he was being considered for the position of new Governor of Maharashtra and called it “purely speculative”. However, the 80-year-old leader added that he will follow whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi will ask him to do.

Reacting to speculations of him being considered for the post of the Governor of Maharashtra, he said, “This is purely speculative. Nobody has contacted me. I know nothing about it. Nobody mentioned anything. I have already informed the Prime Minister, wherever he wants at whatever position I am at his disposal.”

This statement came after several media reports claimed that Amarinder Singh is likely to be appointed the new Governor of Maharashtra as the incumbent Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has expressed his desire to leave office.

Koshyari, who had faced major controversy and calls by the Opposition in Maharashtra to resign, recently said that he had conveyed his desire to be discharged of his duties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a tweet, the Raj Bhavan had said, “During the recent visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister to Mumbai, I have conveyed to him my desire to be discharged of all political responsibilities and to spend the remainder of my life in reading, writing and other activities. I have always received the love and affection from the Hon’ble Prime Minister and I hope to receive the same in this regard.”

Koshyari was appointed the Governor of Maharashtra in September 2019. His remark calling Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an “old icon” while addressing a function at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad sparked controversy.

Notably, Amarinder Singh had quit the Congress after he was unceremoniously removed as Punjab chief minister in 2021 following a bitter power tussle with party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu. Amarinder Singh later floated his own party, the ‘Punjab Lok Congress’ which failed to win any seat in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. He himself lost from his home turf of Patiala Urban as the AAP scored a landslide victory.

Months later, Amarinder Singh joined the BJP and merged his Punjab Lok Congress with it, saying it was time for him to go to the party with “same ideologies” in commitment towards India’s interests and security.