Monsoon session from today, divided AAP on tenterhooks

POLITICAL CONFLICT Khaira group to independently take on govt, Akalis on Bargari issue in assembly; says if new LOP Cheema tries to silence their voice, they will expose him

CHANDIGARH: The unsavoury infighting in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for control of the state unit in Punjab has kept the party on tenterhooks ahead of the monsoon session of the state assembly.

The squabbling factions – one loyal to the party’s Delhi leadership and the other headed by rebel Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira – have gone all-out to put down each other in the past few days. The Khaira faction having the support of eight of the 20 party legislators has also decided to boycott the legislature party meeting convened by newly appointed leader of opposition (LOP) Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday to devise the party’s strategy for the three-day assembly session.

Cheema had originally called the meeting on Wednesday and then postponed it following an objection from the rebel faction as it coincided with their rally, but it has not helped. The reason for the cleavage is Khaira’s unceremonious sacking from the post of the leader of opposition in the state assembly. While resentment had been brewing for sometime over the party high command’s reluctance to empower the state leadership and a slew of “arbitrary decisions”, a fullblown war broke out after Khaira was replaced with Cheema last month.

Khaira, who continues to breathe fire, said his group would not attend the meeting summoned by Cheema as he was “undemocratically appointed” without taking the views of party MLAS. “We do not recognise him and will independently present our viewpoint in the state assembly. Our attack will be on the (Congress) government and Akalis on the Bargari issue. If he (Cheema) does not give us time and tries to silence our voice to bail out the government, we will expose him, both within and outside the assembly,” Khaira said.

In response, a nonplussed Cheema, whose real test will be to ensure things don’t get out of hand and avoid embarrassment for the party, said he had invited all party MLAS to the meeting and wanted everyone to be there to decide the party strategy on Bargari and other important issues. On the rebels’ decision to have their independent strategy, he said this would be discussed in the legislature party meeting.

CHANGE SEATING PLAN: CHEEMA TO SPEAKER

Cheema is learnt to have requested the speaker to change the seating plan of party MLAS, pushing Khaira and Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu, who also belongs to the rebel camp, to seats in the back rows. Both used to sit in the front rows in the previous sessions.

Though political expediency demands the two factions to jointly take on rival parties (Congress and SAD) on issues such as Bargari on which they think alike and fight their battles for supremacy on party forums, there appears to be no sign of an early end to hostility due to deepened distrust. However, Dakha MLA and former leader of opposition HS Phoolka is hopeful that all 20 party MLAS would speak in one voice in the assembly on the sacrilege report and issues of public interest. The government will table the contentious report of the Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission on sacrilege incidents along with action taken report (ATR) in the state assembly.

AAP, which had pushed the Congress government on the back foot in the first two sessions last year with Khaira leading the charge, was lacklustre during the budget session in March 2018 and failed to take the fight to the government. The party was done in by turmoil within following national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s apology to SAD’S Bikram Majithia in a defamation case five days before the session.

Saddened to know that cronies in Delhi have pushed our seats to the back row in the assembly. Are they playing into the hands of the Congress and SAD? SUKHPAL KHAIRA , AAP leader