Chhotepur to float party in Punjab

Dropping a letter bomb against the Aam Aadmi Party which he led for over two years in Punjab, its sacked convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur submitted his resignation to national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.

Saying the party is now led by “sycophants”, Chhotepur said the “game plan” is to run Punjab from Delhi through a remote control riding on the faith of “honest and hardworking” Punjabis.

Chhotepur said despite his hard work, Kejriwal did not have faith in the party’s Punjab leadership.

He added that he was constantly “humiliated” by the party’s Delhi-based leaders.

Chhotepur, who is all set to launch his political outfit named Apna Punjab Party on Saturday, was removed from his position last month following allegations of his having taken money from a supporter.

In his resignation letter released to the media on Friday, Chhotepur said it was a matter of “deep anguish and pain” resigning from the primary membership of AAP.

He said he had worked hard to build the party in the state since he joined it in 2014 and yet, was never given any authority. He added that the AAP had drifted away from the ideals that fascinated Punjab’s people. “My loyalty to you and to the party remained unquestionable, although for reasons best known to you I was not given any authority or functional powers,” he wrote.

“You did not trust Punjab leadership including me and kept these things within the domain of Delhi leaders like Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak,” he added.

“I had no funds at my disposal.The party preferred to keep me the state head without any power and resources… I raised certain issues for the betterment of party which included the distribution of tickets as well. This was construed as a hostile act…. For this, I was unceremoniously removed from my post. Even my integrity was questioned without any proof.”

My loyalty to you and to the party remained unquestionable, although for reasons best known to you I was not given any authority or functional powers. SUCHA SINGH CHHOTEPUR, former Punjab AAP convener