Mann, Arora quit AAP posts, Bains bros’ LIP snaps ties
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: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president Bhagwant Mann, who resigned on the issue on Friday, said national convener Arvind Kejriwal had betrayed the people of Punjab.
Calling the apology a ‘blunder’, Mann said party volunteers and leaders were fighting on the drugs issue, but the jarnail (general) had gone ahead and apologised to Majithia without consultation.
“About 34 lakh people had voted for the party and probably 25 lakh of them even put up posters on this issue. Has Kejriwal apologised on their behalf or he just went alone to Majithia to ask for forgiveness? This thing has come as a shock for everyone,” he added.
Mann, the Lok Sabha MP from Sangrur and arguably the most popular face of the party in the state, posted a tweet in the morning to announce his resignation.
He had been appointed in May. On his resignation, the AAP leader said there was democracy in the party and it was his right to protest.
The comedian-turned-politician said he was left with no option because Kejriwal tendered the apology without any consultation.
“If such a thing is done, I do not think there is any point in continuing in the position of the state chief,” he said, adding, “This post or being a member of Lok Sabha do not matter to me because I had staked my career and everything else in this fight.”
On the impact of the apology on the party’s prospects in the state, Mann, who has already started working in his constituency for the parliamentary election next year, said, one decision would not alter its future.
“Two months ago, many people were raising questions about the future of the Samajwadi Party. Now, when it has won Gorakhpur, the same people are wondering about the BJP’S prospects,” he said. “I will continue as an ordinary worker,” he added.