In an exclusive interview with PTI Videos, Pilot hailed Singh, who is popularly referred to as Captain, saying he served Punjab “well” and is a “man of a very tall stature”.
Pilot, however, stressed that he has not spoken with Singh personally about what his future plans are about joining or leaving any party.
Pilot’s remarks come against the backdrop of Singh’s recent critical comments about his party BJP and his apparent disgruntlement with the saffron outfit.
Asked about Singh’s adverse remarks against the BJP and the speculation over the possibility of his returning to the Congress fold, Pilot told PTI, “As far as Captain sahab is concerned, I’ve known him personally since I was very young. And I’ve worked closely with him. Personally, I’ve not had any interaction with him on this particular issue. But like they say, politics mein ‘kuch bhi ho sakta hai’ (Anything is possible in politics)?”
“I mean, who knows? I think he’s actually, just like me, part of the armed forces. He’s served Punjab well. And he’s a man of a very tall stature, certainly. How the BJP has taken to him, I’m not sure,” Pilot said.
“I’ve seen those comments that you’re referring to. But I’ve not spoken to him personally about what his future plans are about joining or leaving any party,” Pilot stressed.On people of tall stature expecting tall positions in the party for returning, Pilot said, “I don’t know what he’s (Captain) thinking. I’ve not spoken to him or had any communication on that front. Time will tell what happens. I can’t say anything right now.”
Captain had last month aired his disgruntlement over the BJP not consulting him on Punjab.
Singh had said that it is his duty to tell his party (BJP) what he feels about Punjab and that does not mean he is quitting the party.
Singh had also said he is going through “difficult times” but did not elaborate further.
The speculation about his possible return to the Congress began in August when Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, during an ‘Ask me’ session on Instagram, named him as his favourite politician from the BJP.
Reacting to Gandhi’s remarks, Singh had said his personal relationship with the Gandhis will always be there, but his political commitment is to the BJP.
When Singh was in the Congress, he was one of the strongest regional satraps of the party and had steered the Congress in 2017 to a landslide victory in the 117-member assembly to become the Punjab chief minister for the second time.
He, however, resigned from the CM’s post and quit the Congress in 2021 due to infighting in the party’s state unit, and formed a new party, Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), which he later merged with the BJP after the PLC failed to win any seat in the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.
Singh’s wife and former MP Preneet Kaur, son Raninder Singh and daughter Jai Inder Kaur are now also with the BJP.
