Mann, Arora quit AAP posts, Bains bros’ LIP snaps ties
AAPHEAVAL Call ‘meek surrender’ painful; Sisodia says will talk to state leaders
CHANDIGARH: A day after Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal apologised to Akali politician Bikram Majithia for accusing him of involvement in the drug trade, party’s Punjab unit plunged into a crisis on Friday when its state president Bhagwant Mann and his deputy Aman Arora quit their posts in protest.
While Mann, who is Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur, was the first to announce his resignation, Punjab unit co-president and Sunam MLA Aman Arora also followed suit , expressing his anguish over the apology. Party MLAs , led by leader of opposition in the state assembly Sukhpal Khaira met in Chandigarh, rejected Kejriwal’s apology.
They also discussed the possibility “separating” from the Delhi unit. “There was no consensus on breaking away as several MLAs said they wanted to consult their supporters and constituents before making any further move.
Sandhu said that both Mann and Dakha MLA HS Phoolka, who could not attend the meeting, informed them that they would support the decisions taken by the state leaders in the matter. Also, AAP’s alliance partner Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), whose both MLAs, Simarjeet Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains, attended in the meeting, snapped ties with the party its leader’s “shocking act”. The two parties had contested the state polls together.
Party’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said the party leadership will talk to state leaders to solve the issue.
Kejriwal tendered the apology in a defamation case filed by Majithia on May 20, 2016, at an Amritsar court at the peak of the election campaign. The Akali leader withdrew the case on Thursday in the wake of the Delhi chief minister’s written apology.
The revolt by the Punjab leaders on a day of fast-paced political development left the central leaders of AAP stunned.
On Friday, 20 MLAs of AAP and LIP, who were to meet for a meeting to draw a chargesheet against the Congress government, went into a huddle and decided to condemn the apology, saying that his “meek surrender” was “unfortunate and painful. Khaira, who also addressed the media earlier, said the state unit leaders were being asked by people whether Kejriwal had entered into an understanding with the Akali Dal.
›
Party leaders were fighting on drug issue, but the ‘jarnail’ (general) has gone ahead and apologised to Majithia without consulting them. BHAGWANT MANN, AAP Sangrur MP
›
Due to painful turn of events since yesterday (Kejriwal’s apology), please accept my resignation from post of Punjab party copresident. AMAN ARORA, AAP Sunam MLA
CHANDIGARH: The apology by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia was not a sudden development, a senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has claimed. It was the result of a series of closed-door meetings between AAP and SAD leaders in New Delhi and Chandigarh, said the Punjab leader who does not want to be named but was part of the behind-the-scenes talks.
Among the AAP leaders involved in the informal parleys was Ashish Khetan, who is said to have made frequent trips to Chandigarh but kept his visits under wraps, claims the SAD leader. Other than Kejriwal and Majithia, leaders of both parties met atleast four times, he said.
Among those who played a key role in bringing the AAP leaders to the negotiation table were Akali leaders based in Delhi, including Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who was elected to the Delhi assembly on BJP ticket in the 2017 bypoll.
Sirsa is also the general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). When contacted, Sirsa refused to comment on his role in the talks. An AAP leader, on the condition of anonymity, said the apology from Kejriwal was “stage-managed” and leaders of both AAP and SAD met several times before that.
HT has also learnt that SAD leaders managed to convince their AAP counterparts that conviction in this case was certain. AAP’s Khetan went to Amritsar with his and Kejriwal’s apology letters to be given in the court, claimed the SAD leader. However, Khetan was not available for comments. AAP’s former head of the legal cell Himmat Singh Shergill said something had transpired behind the scenes leading to the apology and he would take it up with Kejriwal as to why he took this drastic step.
THE CASE
A criminal defamation suit was filed by Majithia against Kejriwal, Khetan and Sanjay Singh on 20 May 2016. All the three secured bail and offered to face trial, stating they stood by the allegations made by them. The defamation suit pertains to statements made on three occasions — the Maghi rally on January 14, 2016 addressed by AAP leaders, including Kejriwal; street-corner meetings by Kejriwal in Amritsar on February 27, 2016 and a press conference at the Chandigarh press club by Khetan and Sanjay Singh on March 30, 2016, in which allegations about Majithia’s involvement in the drug trade were levelled. According to Majithia’s counsel Damanbir Sobti, the case was at the last stage now.
After the apology letters from Kejriwal and Khetan, Majithia has withdrawn the defamation suit against them, but the case against Sanjay Singh continues and the next hearing is on April 2. Singh is facing a similar case in a Ludhiana court too.
Shergill, who represents Singh in the two cases, said that his client would not seek apology and would contest the case.
›
Something has transpired behind the scenes leading to the apology. I will take it up with Kejriwal on why he took the drastic step.
HIMMAT SINGH SHERGILL, AAP’s former legal cell head