In Points: Why Capt Amarinder resigned as Punjab CM

After facing multiple revolts, Capt Amarinder Singh resigned from his post of Punjab Chief Minister. “I feel humiliated,” said Capt while quitting.
“I feel humiliated by the way talks went down. I spoke with Sonia Gandhi this morning and informed that I would be resigning today. This is the third time in recent months in meeting MLAs, which is why I decided to quit,” he said.
The key political development came after speculations of a no-confidence motion against Capt were aired.
Amarinder Singh served as Punjab CM for nine long years and has been in politics for the last over 50yrs. Despite having a successful political career, here is why he was forced to step down as Chief Minister of Punjab.

• The Majha brigade of three ministers – Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria, and Sukhjinder Randhawa — managed to unite the majority of legislators against the CM. Even though Punjab PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu remained quiet during the rebellion against CM, it is clear that the anti-Capt delegation was indirectly led by him.
• Many legislators penned letters to party high command on several occasions claiming they have lost faith in Capt Amarinder’s leadership and are dissatisfied due to his failure in fulfilling poll promises.

Also Read: 'I Feel Humiliated': Capt Amarinder says after submitting his resignation to Punjab Governor

However, hours before the key meeting, he decided to quit saying “he’s humiliated”.

• The Congress won power in Punjab on the promise of addressing the drug problem and bringing the guilty in the sacrilege case to justice. Despite the passing of four years, the sacrilege cases continue to linger.
• Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal a clean chit in the Kotkapura police firing case in which two protestors demonstrating against the sacrilege at Bargari were killed in 2015. After this PPCC chief Navjot Sidhu had criticized Amarinder for mishandling the probe.
• The Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, which Amarinder had appointed in 2017 to investigate sacrilege incidents, had already clearly exposed the Badals for hiding the Dera Sacha Sauda, but no action was taken.
• One of the reasons for Amarinder's downfall was the perception that he was light on the Badals.
• Also, during a rally in Talwandi Sabo in the run-up to the 2017 elections, Capt Amarinder took an oath to eradicate the drug menace from the state within a month of assuming office. 

• One of the main complaints of Congress MLAs was that meeting the Chief Minister, who was surrounded by a force, was impossible. It's an allegation he's faced before, during his previous term. However, things began to deteriorate this time when he stopped visiting the Punjab civic secretariat in Chandigarh and moved his family out of the city to a farmhouse on the outskirts.
• People used to have Sangat darshan (public audience) with chief ministers, whether it was Akali Parkash Singh Badal or Congress's Beant Singh, were upset by his inaccessibility.
• The Congress party commissioned external surveys in Punjab, which revealed that the chief minister's popularity had dropped, raising doubts about his ability to lead the party to victory in the 2022 assembly elections.