Suspended Amanatullah attends iftar with Kejriwal, raises eyebrows
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday attended an iftar party hosted by party legislator Amanatullah Khan, who was suspended recently after he accused senior party leader Kumar Vishwas of being a ‘BJP agent’, raising eyebrows in the party.
The development comes at a time when there is a growing ‘trust deficit’ between AAP leadership and Vishwas as a section of leaders in the party recently questioned the poet-turned politician’s ‘soft’ approach towards BJP leaders in Rajasthan even as he treats Congress leaders differently.
Party leaders, however, maintained that the iftar was hosted not by Khan but by the minority wing of the party at a Jamia Millia Islamia.
“Being the local MLA, Amanataullah attended the event,” a party leader said.
Kejriwal’s attendance at the event, however, was described by a section in the party as a ‘clear message’ that Khan might have been suspended by the party for three months to ‘placate’ Vishwas but his ‘clout’ in the party has not waned.
Soon after Khan’s suspension, who is also a member of the political affairs committee (PAC)—the highest decisionmaking body in the party—deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had visited Khan’s residence.
Khan also found favour from the party when he was appointed chairman of five legislative committees of Delhi assembly.
Kejriwal, however, steered cleared of any controversy and said that he prayed for the well being of all and for ‘destruction of communal forces’.