Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pays obeisance at Golden Temple for the Peace of Punjab before to visit Kotakpura, in Amritsar on Saturday. (PTI Photo) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pays obeisance at Golden Temple for the Peace of Punjab before to visit Kotakpura, in Amritsar on Saturday. (PTI Photo)

THE two suspended parliamentarians of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s motives in visiting Punjab and accused him of indulging in ‘opportunistic politics’ ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections in the state.

Fatehgarh Sahib MP Harinder Singh Khalsa and Patiala MP Dharamvir Gandhi — both suspended from the party — openly questioned if Kejriwal was really worried about Punjab and its people. “Kejriwal is here to take political mileage. Logically, he has nothing to do with Punjab or the sacrilege issue here. His priority should be Delhi and its problems. The only reason for his landing in Punjab is to hunt for Sikh votes ahead of the 2017 polls and garner some sympathy during this current crisis in Punjab. What is the logic behind the Delhi CM landing in Punjab and getting photos clicked? Let your MPs work, let Sadhu Singh (Faridkot MP) solve the issues,” Khalsa told The Indian Express.

“The party (AAP) has lost its principles and now behaves like any other, particularly indulging in opportunistic politics. Whenever someone dies or any unfortunate incident happens, Bhagwant Mann (Sangrur MP) is always ready to reach first and get photos clicked. He gives media bytes but has no agenda to solve the issue,” Khalsa added.

Patiala MP Dharamvir Gandhi termed Kejriwal’s visit as nothing beyond politics. “Now when there is no difference between AAP, Congress, BJP or any other party, Kejriwal is justified in visiting Punjab like Captain Amarinder, Rahul Gandhi or any other politician. It is not a gesture to pacify the hurt feelings of the Sikh community but one for political gain. Honestly, no one is concerned for the people of Punjab or their issues,” Gandhi said. Both suspended MPs confirmed that they were not summoned by Kejriwal on Saturday. “We were not approached for any dialogue or clarifications,” said Gandhi and Khalsa. “Probably we are untouchables now,” Khalsa said.

‘Faridkot MP also playing politics’

The people of Sarawan and Naimiyewala villages in Faridkot, the native places of Gurjeet Singh and Krishan Singh — the two men who died in police firing on October 14 – have also accused their local MP, AAP’s Sadhu Singh, of playing politics and showing no real concern.

“A day after the deaths, we asked Sadhu Singh to go outside and control the agitating mob. They were not allowing us to cremate Gurjeet but he did not budge. Even when the problem began, he was nowhere to be seen for the first two days. He did not meet any of the protesters agitating against the desecration and came onto the scene only after the police firing killed two people. Today our MP was tagging along with Kejriwal and not missing a single photo opportunity,” said a villager from Sarawan, a neighbour of Gurjeet Singh.

“Sadhu Singh has not taken any tough stand for us and has not taken a stand on the innocent brothers being framed for the desecration at Panjgrain Khurd. He has always under the shadow of Bhagwant Mann and Succha Singh Chottepur without a voice of his own. This is contrary to what he portrayed himself as during the Lok Sabha election campaign. We are against SAD MLAs but even our AAP MP has done nothing,” said another villager.

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