‘My mother Preneet Kaur will join BJP today. She will contest from Patiala. We were deeply hurt the way Cong humiliated my father’: Amarinder Singh’s daughter

Q) Why wait till your late 50s to join politics, when your parents were in the Congress for decades?

I have been helping both my parents in their election campaigns since 1998, but I was never a member of the Congress. When my father became the Punjab CM in 2017, I expressed my wish to help him fulfill the promises we had made to the people of our hometown — Patiala. Though I was never involved in politics or his official work, I worked in Patiala to ensure that promises made during my father’s tenure were fulfilled. That’s when I realised that a lot needs to be done, and got vigorously involved in public works with my parents. After leaving the Congress, when my father floated his own party, the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC), I campaigned for him during the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls. I only decided to take the plunge later that year, when my father joined the BJP, so that I could contribute to public welfare in any way I could. Before that, I never had so much time to devote to politics due to family commitments.

Q) How do you look back at the Congress removal of your father Amarinder as Punjab CM?

It hurt us a lot. They didn’t have to do it this way. He had already told them (the top Congress leadership) two months before, that ‘if you are not happy with the way I am functioning, I can resign’. They said ‘no, no you have to fight elections for us’. They could easily have called him and communicated their decision. The way they did it wasn’t nice at all. It hurt me immensely, the whole family was very hurt. He gave so many years to the Congress. You can’t discard people like this. He was a two-time CM who did so much for the party and people of Punjab, but the Gandhis never thanked him for anything. My mother is still a sitting Congress MP from Patiala, and they suspended her from the party. I have now realised that the BJP is good to work with. I was never a part of the Congress, but they really need to respect their loyal leaders.

Q) Will you contest the Lok Sabha polls?

No, my mother (Preneet Kaur) will contest from Patiala. She will officially join the BJP today. My turn will probably come in another 2-3 years (hinting at the Punjab Assembly elections in 2027). She is already working in the constituency, is a four-time MP and is still very active. She is a winning candidate for the BJP.

Q) Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar is advocating another Akali Dal-BJP alliance. Your take?

Alliances are always good. It helps strengthen parties. If Sunil ji has said that, he knows the ground reality. Naturally, both parties will perform better if they get together.

Q) Do you see an anti-BJP sentiment in Punjab, especially after the farmers’ protests?

The sentiment has changed a lot and it will change even more in the coming days. Earlier, when the BJP was in an alliance with the SAD, we never reached out to the villages as rural seats were with the Akali Dal. Now, we are communicating directly with people. In fact, BJP booths came up in villages for the first time during the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.

The farmer protests have been unfortunate, but we all know who started it, the two farm leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Sarwan Singh Pandher. I feel these protests were politically motivated. Otherwise, which farmer can bring cranes and bulldozers? All our opposition parties, including the AAP and the Congress, were supporting them in their own ways. But hopefully Punjab farmers will do well in the future.

Q) What’s the most important women’s issue in Punjab that needs immediate attention?

The major problem is drugs. Every household is affected by drugs. Women in villages are helpless and need help. The current AAP government claims they are doing things, but on the ground, nothing is happening. BJP leaders at the Centre are serious about this. They have already chalked out a plan about what they want to do. Successive governments might have taken steps against drugs up to a certain point, but in the past two years under the AAP, the problem has aggravated like never before, and women are bearing the brunt. Children get addicted and they start stealing. They even steal gas cylinders from their own homes. This has led to an uptick in crimes in Punjab, especially of brazen snatching of gold chains, earrings from women on the roads.

Q) An unchanging perception against your family, including your father, is that royal family members are inaccessible. Your view?

The opposition says a lot of things. Go and ask anybody, and they will tell you how much my father used to travel around while he was the CM. My mother, too, moves around constantly, answers all her phone calls by herself. Since I joined the BJP, I have been travelling around the state. People know it. The royal family tag is just a legacy, nothing more.