‘Resigned on My Own, Sensing the Direction of the Wind’: Raja Warring on Stepping Down as Punjab Congress Chief

Former Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday said he resigned from the post on his own after “realising the direction of the wind”, asserting that no one had asked him to step down and that he did not want the party’s central leadership to come under pressure.

Warring made the remarks after submitting his resignation to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

Speaking to IANS, the former Punjab Congress chief said, “It doesn’t matter whether the resignation was demanded by someone or voluntarily given by me…However, nobody asked for my resignation.”

Explaining his decision, Warring compared his assessment of the political situation to that of elderly women who can sense an approaching change in the weather.

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“Just like elder women who could tell by reading the direction of the wind whether it was going to rain and that one should be prepared so that clothes wouldn’t get wet, I observed the situation closely, and it never reached the point where someone had to ask me to resign. That is why I wrote ‘FORMER’ in my ‘X’ bio myself, so that such a situation wouldn’t arise. What kind of leader is one who doesn’t even realise what the situation and circumstances are? So, nobody asked for my resignation, but yes, today I have formally submitted my resignation to Rahul ji and expressed my gratitude,” he said.

Warring also denied having spoken to any party leader about the reported differences within the Punjab Congress.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone, neither with (state in-charge) Sachin (Pilot) ji nor with anyone else. But I have heard that perhaps the in-charge mentioned that Raja Warring would have to be replaced,” he said.

Asked whether he had presented his position to Sachin Pilot, Warring said he discussed his stance with only one leader.

“I present my stance in front of only one person, and that is Rahul Gandhi,” he said.

Responding to a question on whether his resignation followed alleged pressure from former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and other state Congress leaders, Warring said he wanted to prevent the party’s central leadership from facing pressure.

“I did not want anyone to come under pressure…I did not want my leader to face any pressure from above, so I resigned before that,” he said.

On his future plans, Warring said he would initially perform seva and meditate at a gurdwara before taking up any responsibility assigned to him by the party.

“After that I will carry out whatever responsibility I am assigned by the party,” he said.