AAPOLOGY ROW: SPLITAAP MOVE GETS MLAS’ THUMBS DOWN
MAJORITY OPPOSED, FOR STATUS QUO The claim on number of legislators in favour of breaking away exaggerated
CHANDIGARH:The majority of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs in Punjab are opposed to splitting the party following party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s apology to former Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia over drug charges to settle a defamation case.
Of the 20 party MLAs in Punjab, the 12 this newspaper spoke to, rejected any move to form a separate party or an independent group within AAP despite being miffed over not being consulted or informed about the apology tendered to the leader of a rival party in the state.
10 PUNJAB MLAs MEET KEJRIWAL
Meanwhile, the crisis in the Punjab unit of party continued on Sunday with half the party MLAs staying away from a meeting held by Kejriwal in Delhi.
Only 10 MLAs turned up for the meeting and endorsed Kejriwal’s decision to tender an unqualified apology to Majithia for the drug charges levelled against him in the run-up to the state assembly polls last year.
“The MLAs conveyed their resentment at not being consulted or informed, but he told us how he was being bogged down by 33 defamation cases filed against him in 21 courts across the country and was unable to work for the people,” said Sunam MLA Aman Arora after the meeting.
One MLA, who attended the Delhi meeting, claimed that Khaira talked to Punjab affairs in-charge Sisodia, giving the reasons for not being able to show up.
CHANDIGARH:The majority of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators in Punjab are opposed to splitting the party in the wake of Delhi chief minister and national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s apology to former Shiromani Akali Dal minister Bikram Singh Majithia over drug charges to settle a defamation case.
Of the 20 party MLAs in the state, the 12 this newspaper spoke to rejected any move to form a separate party or an independent group within AAP despite being miffed over not being consulted or informed about the apology tendered to the leader of a rival party in the state. However, there are some such as Nihal Singh Wala MLA Manjit Singh who want the central leadership to give more freedom to the state unit to take its own decisions.
Their views are significant in view of the talk of splitting the party by a section of MLAs in the state after the party chief’s selfgoal. On Friday, 18 MLAs, who met in Chandigarh, had discussed the possibility of breaking away from AAP to form a separate unit. The final decision was deferred.
After the two-round meeting that lasted three-and-a-half hours, Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu had told reporters that there was no consensus on breaking away as several MLAs said they wanted to consult their supporters before making any further move. Later, two MLAs had claimed that 14 MLAs were in favour of splitting the party. The AAP has 20 MLAs and any split without attracting the anti-defection law is only possible if at least 14 (two-thirds of total strength) of them come together to form a separate unit. However, the number of legislators in favour of breaking away was exaggerated in all probability.
When contacted, 12 MLAs, including Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Sarvjit Kaur Manuke, HS Phoolka, Budh Ram, Aman Arora, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Baljinder Kaur, Jagdev Singh, Amarjit Singh Sandoa and Harpal Singh Cheema, gave the thumbs down to any move to split the party.
Sandhwan, who is MLA from Kotkapura, said that any talk of splitting the party was not acceptable. “The people showed trust in the AAP primarily because of its top leader. When I met him (Kejriwal) on Saturday, he told me why he expressed regret for his remark. All this talk of breaking away is not done,” he said, accusing a section of his party colleagues of trying to split the party.
Manuke, deputy leader of AAP legislature party in the state assembly, said she would continue to be in the party. “If one breaks their house, it does not benefit anyone,” she said. Most of these legislators also went to Delhi for the meeting convened by Kejriwal and Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia on the issue. However, Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia, who stayed away from the Delhi meeting, said he would make up his mind after meeting volunteers and party workers in his constituency. Other MLAs could not be contacted, as either their phones were switched off or they did not respond to calls.