Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has been admitted to a hospital in Mohali. Amarinder Singh was admitted to Fortis Hospital on Monday, February 9, and according to reports, the former chief minister was admitted for knee replacement surgery.
The knee surgery has been done and captain Amarinder Singh is now stable, a Tribune report said. After the procedure, the former chief minister was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) where he is being monitored, the report said.
Haryana Transport Minister Anil Vij visited Captain Amarinder Singh in hospital; A photo of their meeting appeared on social networks. The picture showed Captain Amarinder Singh sitting on a hospital bed with Anil Vij standing next to him talking to him.
Amarinder Singh was in the news recently when he called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rigid, unlike the Congress, which he said was more open to consultation. The Congress, he said, used to consult its leaders and had a “more democratic system”.
“Decisions are taken at the highest level, even in the Congress, decisions were taken at the highest level, but earlier they consulted with us, with everyone – views of MLAs, MPs were taken. Here, I think, no one asked… Congress is more flexible in taking views, BJP, I feel, is a bit rigid in its approach,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
“The BJP is not consulting me. I have 60 years of political experience but I cannot impose myself on them,” said Amarinder Singh.
Amid internal dissension within the Punjab Congress, Amarinder Singh resigned as Chief Minister in September 2021. A change in leadership followed that brought Charanjit Singh Channi to the helm, and Amarinder Singh left the party to form his own – the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) – which eventually merged with the BJP in 2022.
Amarinder Singh joined the BJP in the presence of its senior leaders in Delhi. Amarinder Singh announced joining the BJP after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 12 September 2022 in Delhi.
“Had a very productive meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah Ji. Discussed various issues related to national security, rising cases of narco-terrorism in Punjab and future plan for overall holistic development of Punjab,” Amarinder Singh tweeted. During the merger, it was also announced that the former Punjab Chief Minister would also merge his party with the BJP, which eventually happened.