Kejriwal apologises to Majithia; AAP, SAD-BJP leaders upset; 10 highlights

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's apology to a SAD leader for accusing him of drugs trade pushed the party's Punjab unit into a crisis as the state leadership contemplated breaking away and forming a separate unit, saying the "meek surrender" was painful and very unfortunate. Kejriwal's apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia triggered an upheaval in the state unit as AAP's Punjab unit president and co-president Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora resigned their posts. In a further jolt, the Lok Insaf Party (LIP), their ally in the state, announced to break its alliance with AAP in the wake of Kejriwal's apology. "We have announced to break our alliance with the AAP. We cannot be associated with a party whose main leader meekly surrendered by tendering an apology to former minister Bikram Singh Majithia," LIP leader and MLA Simrjeet Singh Bains said. AAP state unit leaders also said they were now facing allegations whether Kejriwal had entered into an understanding with the Shiromani Akali Dal by tendering an apology to Majithia in defamation case. Kejriwal also earned the wrath of the ruling Congress and SAD-BJP leaders, who accused him of being in the habit of making false allegations against his opponents to garner votes. ALSO READ: Kejriwal apology: Two top AAP leaders in Punjab resign Here are top 10 developments 1. Leader of Opposition and AAP senior leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the apology has been condemned said across the party's state unit. "A vast majority of the leaders was of the view why a separate unit of Punjab AAP should not be formed which will have alliance with Lok Insaf Party and also forge alliance with like-minded parties and can even go to the extent of having former Punjab unit convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur on board..," Khaira said, adding decision on this has been deferred for the time being. Among the decisions taken at the meeting, Kanwar Sandhu said, "We have also decided that future meetings with our leadership from Delhi be held in Chandigarh". On LIP breaking ties with the AAP, Sandhu said, "They too are upset with Kejriwal's decision and said they cannot support him anymore, but they have assured their continued support to the state unit to raise the issues concerning people of Punjab." "Kejriwal may have apologised, but our state unit will continue its fight against drugs," Sandhu said, adding "our stand continues to remain unchanged, we demand that CBI probe drug racket case and if involvement of any political leader is found, that too should be probed by the CBI." To a question, he said that some party MLAs did not attend the second round of meeting in the evening due to some preoccupation, but they are standing by the decisions taken in today's meeting. "If some colleagues did not turn up, this doesn't mean we have fallen apart," he said. AAP Punjab chief Bhagwant Mann, who was away to Delhi, and senior leader H S Phoolka also said they would support whatever decision AAP leaders from Punjab take, said Sandhu. 2. Punjab Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu accused Kejriwal of "murdering" the AAP in Punjab by tendering his apology, while Union Minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla said the Delhi CM can go to any extent to grab power. Former Chief Minister and Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal said by tendering apology, Kejriwal has admitted that he had made false accusation against Akali leader. Sidhu said that the Special Task Force (STF) had found evidence against former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the drug trade. 3. Kumar Vishwas takes a poetic dig at Arvind Kejriwal Senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas launched a veiled attack on Kejriwal over his apology. "Expert in dividing unity, expert at chopping off his own roots, why spit on the person who is himself ready to spit and take it back," Vishwas said in a tweet in Hindi. ALSO READ: Majithia apology: Kumar Vishwas takes a poetic dig at Arvind Kejriwal 4. Majithia to withdraw case against Kejriwal Talking to reporters on Thursday evening, Majithia said he was grateful that truth had won and Kejriwal had realised his mistake. "I will withdraw the case, which I had filed for what is right and for my own and my family's honour," he said. Majithia had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and two other AAP leaders, Sanjay Singh and Ashish Khetan, in May 2016 after they repeatedly targeted him over the problem of drugs in Punjab while campaigning for the Punjab Assembly elections. 5. Delhi AAP Leadership to talk to Punjab leaders miffed over Kejriwal's apology: Sisodia AAP's Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said today that the party leadership will talk to state leaders, who are unhappy over Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, to solve the issue. "We fight for the people on streets. It is not our work to fight in court. However, we will fight for people in court," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia said on the apology to Majithia. "If we spend time in court, then how we will be able to spare time for the people?" he said. 6. Kejriwal exposed as a liar: BJP leader BJP Delhi unit on Friday said he has exposed himself as a "liar". The BJP also alleged that he was doing nothing even while the people of the national capital were facing a number of issues due to sealing. Addressing a press conference here, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari said: " What we have been saying for long has been proved today. He is a liar. He has apologised to Majithia for making false allegations against him." "He is on his way to apologise to (Union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley ji and (Union Transport Minister) Nitin Gadkari ji for making false allegations," the BJP leader said. 7. Arun Jaitley could be next on the list: There's another defamation case Kejriwal has to contend with -- the one filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. After the chief minister issued his apology to Majithia, the question on many people's mind was whether the AAP supremo would extend a similar apology to Jaitley, too.

Now, it appears that he just might. Sources in the AAP have indicated that the party might resort to a similar tactic for dealing with the defamation cases filed by Jaitley against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, agency reports said. In December 2015, Jaitley had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, and Deepak Bajpayee. Jaitley had claimed that Kejriwal and others made 'false and defamatory' statements in a case involving the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and in the process harmed his reputation. The finance minister sought Rs 100 million (Rs 10 crore) in damages. 8. Apology part of AAP's legal strategy: While the party's Punjab leaders spoke out against the move, AAP's Delhi unit said that Kejriwal was facing dozens of criminal and civil cases related to defamation, violation of Section 144, putting hoardings and posters up during election campaigns, and public protests, among other things, in Delhi and other parts of India like Varanasi, Amethi, Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra, and Goa. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the spokesperson of AAP's Delhi unit, explained the rationale behind the move. Bharadwaj said that AAP leaders were facing cases "foisted by our political rivals to de-motivate us and keep our leadership busy in these legal matters". He added that most of these cases required personal appearance in court and that the decision to "amicably sort out" all such legal cases was a strategy "devised by the legal team of the party". "The political cases in Delhi have been put on fast track, forcing MLAs and ministers to virtually attend cases on daily basis in courts at Delhi and other states," Bharadwaj said. 9. AAP's Punjab leaders cry 'meek surrender': The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit leaders called the apology to Majithia a "meek surrender". Further, they described Kejriwal's step as a "letdown". AAP's Punjab leaders could hardly suppress their astonishment and anger over the move. Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira took to Twitter and vented his disagreement with Kejriwal's actions. "We're appalled n stunned by the apology of @ArvindKejriwal tendered today, we don't hesitate to admit that we haven't been consulted on this meek surrender by a leader of his stature (sic)," Khaira tweeted. ALSO READ: Kejriwal exposed as a liar: BJP leader 10. Bhagwant Mann resigns as AAP's Punjab chief: A day after Kejriwal's apology to Majithia drew flak from state unit leaders, Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann today resigned as the AAP's Punjab chief. Mann announced his decision to resign on Twitter. "I m resigning as a president of AAP Punjab ... But my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an 'Aam Aadmi'of Punjab," he tweeted.