Two party leaders quit, ally snaps ties

Crisis for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab deepened on Friday as its State president Bhagwant Mann and co-president Aman Arora announced their resignations from their posts while the AAP’s ally in Punjab, the Lok Insaf Party (LIP), decided to snap ties.

The chain of events came a day after AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised to former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on the allegations levelled by him against Mr. Majithia that he was involved in drugs trade.

‘A surrender’

AAP MLA and leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Friday said: “By apologising to Mr. Majithia, Mr. Kejriwal has shown signs of mental weakness and has surrendered, which the party MLAs strongly condemn.”

“We feel Mr. Kejriwal should not have apologised. People are even alleging that the AAP in Delhi has joined hands with the Akalis,” he said.

Later in the day, after a meeting of party legislators, senior party leader Kanwar Sandhu said deliberations were held to discuss the situation arising out of the apology episode.

“We discussed splitting from the party’s Delhi unit and create a separate unit for Punjab. While the majority of MLAs supported the move of splitting, however, a consensus could not emerge and hence we have for now deferred the decision of splitting.”

LIP leader Simarjeet Singh Bains, while expressing disappointment at the apology by Mr. Kejriwal, announced he was snapping ties with the AAP. Both parties had contested the Assembly elections in 2017 jointly and LIP has two MLAs. “Mr. Kejriwal has betrayed the people of Punjab and hence we have decided to break our alliance,” he said.

'Kejriwal's apology was no clean chit to Majithia'

The opposition parties took the opportunity to hit out at the AAP. While SAD asked Mr. Mann and Mr. Khaira to resign from the primary membership of AAP as well as from the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha respectively – the Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said that Mr. Kejriwal owed an apology to people of Punjab for not only misleading them but also cheating them.

“Instead of tendering an apology to Mr. Bikram Majitha, you (Mr. Kejriwal) should have apologised to people of Punjab for consistently and continuously lying to them,” said Mr. Jakhar.

Punjab State minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said that Mr. Kejriwal's apology has "murdered" his party in the Punjab. “His action has decimated the APP,” he said.

Mr. Sidhu also said Mr. Kejriwal's apology was no clean chit to Mr. Majithia. “Special Task Force (STF) had found evidence against Mr. Bikram Majithia in the drug trade that has been submitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Punjab government can not ignore the facts and role of Majithia needs to be investigated,” he said.