AAP leader Phoolka cautions party of entering any coalition with Cong

| | Chandigarh | in Chandigarh

Amidst talks of ‘grand alliance’ by all the opposition parties against the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) ahead 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and the senior advocate HS Phoolka on Thursday warned its party of parting ways if it enters into any coalition with the Congress.

“The 1984 anti-Sikh riots case is a serious issue and assumes huge importance for me. There can be no compromise on the issue and if AAP joins a Congress-led coalition, I will not hesitate, even for a moment, to sever ties with the party,” said Phoolka.

He said: “My stand is very clear. I cannot have any relation with the Congress because for me, the issue of 1984 riots is the biggest and I will not make any compromise with it. If the party (AAP) enters Congress-led alliance, I’ll tender resignation that very moment.”

His comments assume significance as just a day before, the Opposition parties displayed a show of strength during the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was among those who attended the swearing-in ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha.

Other notable attendees were UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati, TD president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, among others.

Their presence on one platform was seen as a prelude to a possible Grand Alliance against the Narendra Modi-powered BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Even before entering the politics, Phoolka has been fighting to get justice for thousands of Sikhs, who were massacred in 1984 in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.

Even after successfully contesting the Punjab Assembly polls from Dakha constituency in 2017, Phoolka announced to work for his constituency and also to continue with his legal fight for 1984 riot victims.

Phoolka has recently called for an investigation to find out if the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had any role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.