Manish Sisodia declares convention anti-party

PATIALA:The ongoing crisis in AAP unit deepened on Monday. Following a twohour meeting with district and zonal presidents from the state, the AAP in-charge for Punjab, Manish Sisodia, described the August 2 “volunteers’ convention” being organised by ousted leader of opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira and his supporters as “anti-party”.


AAP Punjab co-convener Balbir Singh went a step ahead and said the party leadership might take action if Khaira and MLAs supporting him still organised the event.



However, Khaira said there was no question of going back on the convention. “It is aimed at strengthening AAP’s base in Punjab. Preparations are in full swing; we are getting an overwhelming response from supporters and volunteers,” he said.



Sisodia said no senior leader of the party would be participating in the convention and appealed to volunteers to boycott it. He said it was clear there was discontent among rival parties over the elevation of a Dalit as leader of opposition and it had now crept into the state unit too.

He said party leaders in Punjab wanted a Dalit leader to be promoted, but some leaders had opposed the move and tried to create an opinion against the party leadership. Sisodia went on to condemn the Lok Insaf Party’s Bains brothers for the role being played by them.

Dirba MLA Harpal Singh Cheema, whose elevation as leader of the opposition in place of Khaira had triggered the crisis in the unit, said many felt it was a conspiracy hatched by the BJP and the RSS to destabilise the party.

In his statement, Cheema hinted at the AAP ending its alliance with LIP, saying that the BJP and RSS were operating through the Bains brothers and party leadership had taken a strong note of these developments.

Balbir said the convention was not to further the cause of AAP in Punjab, but it was against its central leadership. “It is being convened to fight for the leadership of a single individual, not for the issues that the state is facing. That is why we have declared it ‘anti party’,” he said. “In yesterday’s meeting, Sisodia asked them not to go ahead with the convention. In case, they still hold the event, party leadership might take some action against them,” he said.