Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, on Monday, said he had a mission to accomplish for Punjab and India after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“I have a mission to accomplish and that is to work for the interest of the state and the country,” he said while addressing his maiden press conference after joining the party at the state BJP headquarters here today.

Captain Amarinder said that he wanted to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the party president JP Nadda.

The two-time Punjab CM thanked Prime Minister Modi for opening the Kartarpur corridor and withdrawal of three agricultural laws. He added that PM Modi had special fondness for Punjab, as whenever as the Chief Minister, he met him with any demand for the state, he readily accepted it.

Captain Amarinder rapped the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state, saying that there was no governance in Punjab. He said that what happened in Germany – where CM Bhagwant Mann was reportedly deplaned for being in an inebriated condition – was unbecoming of a Chief Minister.

He said that it was Raghav Chadha who was running the show under AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s command.

The senior BJP leader said that it was shameful for a government that being just six months in power, has to bring in the vote of confidence for itself. “That means you have already lost the confidence in your own people,” he said.

Captain Amarinder expressed doubts about the survival of the AAP government in Punjab, saying that he was not sure how long the people of Punjab would tolerate this government.

“We have to be battle ready and whenever the occasion demands we will fight it,” he added.

The former CM lashed out at the Sikhs for Justice leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, saying that he was trying to malign an entire community.

“Punjabis have made a place of pride for themselves world over and the activities Pannu was carrying out was only bringing bad name,” he said.

Captain Amarinder refused to comment on the developments taking place in Rajasthan Congress, saying that it was Congress party’s internal matter as he was no longer with that party.

Replying to a question on the law-and-order issue and incidents like the RPG attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters, he said that it was a disgrace that the enemies could strike in Mohali, which is so close to Chandigarh.

The former CM suggested concerted efforts between the state and the Central government to tackle multiple issues, particularly the threat to national security. But, he added, this government instead of adopting a cooperative approach had taken to confrontation with the Centre, which is not good for the state.