Khaira supporters say good turnout a morale booster
› Participation of a large number of party workers in today’s convention is encouraging. RAMESH KUMAR,
AAP worker from Malout
BATHINDA : Good turnout at the Thursday’s volunteers’ convention in Bathinda against the removal of Sukhpal Singh Khaira as leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha has come as a booster dose for the dissident Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and party workers.
The Khaira group MLAS claimed that it was the first impressive turnout at an AAP event after its loss in assembly polls last year. They linked the large turnout to the prevailing resentment among the party cadres against the central leadership.
While rebel party leaders were expecting a turnout of around 5,000, they claimed 12,000 to 13,000 people participated in the convention.
Party workers, at the jampacked venue, were responding to the calls of their leaders by raising their hands with great enthusiasm.
The speakers also repeatedly mentioned about the “massive gathering” and expressed gratitude towards the workers.
Rajwant Singh, a party worker from Alisher village in Gurdaspur who claimed to be former district president of party’s farmers’ wing, said: “It’s a fight for our rights. Wrong decisions of Delhi leaders have ruined the party in Punjab. It is important that Punjab leaders get the rights to take decisions themselves. Decisions shouldn’t be imposed by the central leadership”.
Another party worker Ramesh Kumar from Malout in Muktsar district said the decision of AAP’S central leadership to remove Khaira as leader of opposition was unjustified and party workers are upset over the development. “Participation of a large number of party workers in today’s convention is encouraging. It will lead to some good development in the party in the coming days,” he said.
Satnam Singh, a party worker from Tarn Taran, too echoed the views of others over the alleged wrong policies of the Delhi leadership.
He said the prospects of the party in Punjab can’t be improved until the state leaders allowed to take their own decisions by the central leadership.