Rebel AAP MP Khalsa not to contest Lok Sabha polls
THE DIPLOMAT-TURNEDPOLITICIAN, WHO WAS AMONG THE FOUR AAP MPS IN PUNJAB, WILL FOCUS ON WRITING HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
CHANDIGARH: Rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP from Fatehgarh Sahib Harinder Singh Khalsa is not inclined to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The diplomat-turned-politician, who was among the four AAP MPS in Punjab, is planning to focus on his autobiography instead. Both Khalsa and the AAP, who had a bitter fall out just a few months after the 2014 parliamentary polls, have ruled out the possibility of patch-up.
The 72-year-old MP, who was suspended from the party in August 2015, said there was no question of returning to its fold. “The party said it will not do caste or religion politics, but then acted just the opposite. Despite being a two-time MP, I was not made leader of the party’s four-member parliamentary group in the Lok Sabha because (AAP national convener Arvind) Kejriwal aspired to become prime minister. It was felt that my name is Khalsa and would not go down well with Hindus,” he said.
When asked, AAP’S legislature party leader Harpal Singh Cheema also said his (Khalsa’s) association with the party was a closed chapter. “The candidate selection process is underway. We have already got a few names,” he said. Khalsa, who was Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP from Bathinda from 1996 to 1999, had joined the AAP a few weeks before the 2014 elections and romped home from Fatehgarh Sahib by defeating Sadhu Singh Dharamsot of the Congress by 54,144 votes.
He, along with Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, was suspended from the primary membership of the AAP in August 2015 for “anti-party activities”. While he has no love lost for the SAD now, Khalsa seems to have a soft corner for the BJP and has a close association with finance minister Arun Jaitley and Union housing and urban development minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Both Khalsa and Puri belonged to the 1974 batch of Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The Fatehgarh Sahib MP also attended a three-day lecture series held by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Delhi three months ago. On being asked about the likelihood of joining the BJP, Khalsa said he was close to some senior BJP leaders. “I am not seeking ticket from any party. I want to concentrate on writing my autobiography. My life has been tumultuous, full of ups and downs,” he said.
A diplomat, Khalsa, while posted in Norway, had resigned from service in protest against Operation Bluestar in June 1984. As the then Congress government filed cases against him, he stayed back and ran a dhaba in Norway and later went to New Zealand as an “alien cook”. On his return to India in 1990, he became secretary of the SGPC and remained member of the National Commission for SC/ST, besides getting elected as MP twice.