Captain Amarinder Singh, a BJP politician and former Punjab chief minister, dismissed media rumours that he was being perceived for the role of new Governor of Maharashtra as "purely speculative" on Thursday. The octogenarian leader, however, said that he will do anything Prime Minister Narendra Modi asks of him, news agency ANI reported.
Speaking about the rumours, Captain Singh stated: "It's purely speculative. Nobody has contacted me. I know nothing about it. Nobody has mentioned anything. I had told PM earlier, I am at his disposal wherever he wants me to be."
This remark came after various media reports suggested that Amarinder Singh will be nominated as the new Governor of Maharashtra since existing Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had expressed a wish to step down.
Koshyari, who has received widespread criticism and requests to quit in Maharashtra, has stated that he has informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his wish to be relieved of his duties.
“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," Raj Bhavan tweeted.
In September 2019, Koshyari was named Governor of Maharashtra. His statement about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj being a "ancient idol" while speaking at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad generated outrage.
Notably, Amarinder Singh left the Congress after being deposed as Punjab chief minister in 2021 in an unceremonious power struggle with party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Amarinder Singh eventually formed his own political party, the 'Punjab Lok Congress,' which did not win a single seat in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. He himself was defeated on his home turf of Patiala Urban, when the AAP won by a landslide.
(With Inputs From ANI)