AAP rift brings differences to the fore in state unit

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29

The division in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) between the camps led by Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav has also brought to the fore differences in its Punjab unit with the four Members of Parliament and other leaders toeing different lines.

Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi has sided with Yadav while Fatehgarh Sahib MP Harinder Singh Khalsa and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann have stood with Kejriwal.

Faridkot MP Prof Sadhu Singh is also learnt to be with the Kejriwal group as he has stayed away from the controversy so far.

Khalsa has sought Gandhi’s resignation from Parliament, saying he had won the seat as the leader of AAP, which he “no longer represents in true terms”. He said it was a shame that the persons who had joined the AAP movement to cleanse the system had now became hungry for power. “I am ashamed of the false claims made by some AAP leaders such as Gandhi about the party activities before the public. I was the seniormost MP from the state but I never opposed the appointment of Gandhi as the leader of the AAP parliamentary group,” he said.

On what it meant for the state, Khalsa said the state residents should feel happy that the AAP had “cleansed” itself before the 2017 Assembly elections. “The division at the Centre will have a cathartic effect,” he said.

Bhagwant Mann and Gandhi could not be contacted. Both have had a history of difference of opinion after they became MPs. They have rarely shared stage and at some functions and rallies, they were not even seen talking to each other.