Parleys on alliance with Cong led to AAP crisis: LIP president Bains

Lok Insaaf Party’s (LIP) president and MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, who said to be the reason for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Sukhpal Khaira’s “unceremonious” removal from the coveted post of the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha a week before, on Friday created a flutter claiming that everything happened to forge an alliance with the Congress.

On the other hand, after the ‘rebel’ faction’s show of strength at Bathinda volunteers’ conference that declared state’s unit autonomous, while dissolving the current structure, AAP’s state unit co-president Dr Balbir Singh has convened a meeting of the state office bearers, except the legislators, to discuss the current crisis.

Rebel faction had passed a resolution at the convention condemning appointment of new leader of opposition and asking to convene a meeting of party MLAs to elect the new leader of its legislative wing.

In the Saturday’s meeting, about 1,000 office-bearers of the party including all the zonal heads, wing presidents, among others, have been invited. The meeting would discuss the future course of action, and the proposed rally on August 13, which is excepted to be attended by state party affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia.

Raising another controversy amidst AAP, Bains tweeted on the micro blogging website, Twitter, saying that Khaira was removed from the Leader of Opposition’s post “as a pre-condition by Congress for forging an alliance with AAP”.

“I have learnt from very reliable sources that @ArvindKejriwal removed Khaira as LoP as a pre condition by Congress for forging an alliance with AAP,if this is true he has stabbed the people of pb in back! @msisodia you too must clarify about this conspiracy-Bains,” tweeted Bains, MLA from Ludhiana’s Atam Nagar constituency.

Retweeting Bains’ tweet, Khaira posted a strongly worded tweet attacking at his own party high command. “I’m stunned to hear this nefarious conspiracy…if true it exposes the mean character of our so-called national leaders who can sacrifice their own party men for cheap political gains, god save this country from such mischievous leaders-Khaira”.

LIP had contested 2017 Punjab polls in alliance with the AAP and has two MLAs — Simarjeet and his elder brother Balwinder Bains — in the 117-member Vidhan Sabha, while AAP could secure just 20 seats. However, the two fell apart after AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s apology to SAD leader Bikram Majithia in a defamation case.

The tweets came a day after Khaira-led faction received a tremendous response to their volunteers’ convention at Bathinda on Thursday, despite the party high command declaring it as “anti-party”.

The development assumes significance as already Khaira and his supporting MLAs have opened a front against the AAP’s leadership, both in the State and at the Centre, terming his removal as “undemocratic”.

AAP’s Punjab co-president Dr Balbir Singh had cited Khaira’s closeness with the Bains brothers as the main reason for his removal even after breaking of the ties between the two allies. In fact, AAP’s state leaders have all along been blaming the Bains Brothers for making efforts to break the party. They have even accused the Bains brothers for creating a split within the party.

Simarjeet Bains had even attacked the newly-elected leader of opposition, Harpal Singh Cheema, by calling him “AAP’s pappu”, much to the annoyance for Kejriwal who described LIP MLA as “anti-Dalit”.