Sukhpal Singh Khaira
A day after AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal visited Punjab and downplayed the split within the party, the dissident group of the party appointed Sukhpal Khaira as the ad-hoc president of the state unit of AAP. The decision to appoint Khaira was taken at a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which itself is an ad-hoc committee, of the dissidents group held here on Monday.
Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu said it was unanimously decided by PAC members to ask Khaira to assume the post of ad-hoc president of the state unit as the party required the right kind of direction in present times. During his visit to the state yesterday, Kejriwal had said the differences within the party were an internal matter of the “family” and these would be resolved soon.
The move is being seen as yet another snub to the Delhi leadership of the party which had removed Khaira as Leader of Opposition last month and appointed Harpal Cheema in his place. Khaira’s appointment as the state unit is also a challenge to the state president, Bhagwant Mann and co-president Balbir Singh. While Mann had resigned as the state president in February this year, the party had not accepted his resignation and lately he had begun taking active part in state politics after the rebel MLAs held a volunteers’ convention in Bathinda earlier this month.
According to Sandhu, the appointment of Khaira was done within party norms. He said while Kejriwal and state in-charge Manish Sisodia were in Punjab Sunday to attend the bhog of the father of Mehal Kalan MLA Kulwant Singh Pandori, they also held two meetings with party functionaries. “However, we were neither informed about these meetings nor were we invited to them. There have been some MLAs who have been in touch on individual basis but nobody has spoken to us officially,” he said.
Reacting to the development, Khaira said he was honoured to have been given the responsibility by the PAC but added he would only accept it after getting it ratified from the volunteers of the party. “This is in line with the concept of ‘Swaraj’ in AAP where every decision has to be taken in consultation with the workers of the party. Accordingly I will put this decision of my appointment as ad-hoc state president to them in the forthcoming public meetings slated in the state and if they give me the go-ahead will assume the office,” he said.
Hinting that there were feeble chances of patch-up with those leaders who are inclined towards the Delhi leadership, Khaira said reconciliation between two people was not important compared to the well-being of the state. Referring dismissively to Dr Balbir Singh as the ‘Subedar of Patiala appointed by Delhi’, Khaira said that decisions pertaining to the party matters of AAP in Punjab will have to be taken in Punjab henceforth. “We are not running away from talks but we have made it clear that any compromise can only take place within the confines of the six resolutions passed in the Bathinda convention,” he said.
Dissident MLAs sacked as Chief Whip and Whip
In a parallel move, AAP state unit has removed Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia and Bhadaur MLA Pirmal Singh Khalsa as the Chief Whip and Whip of the party, respectively, in Vidhan Sabha. Delhi loyalists Kotkapura MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Ropar MLA Amarijit Singh Sandoa have instead been appointed as the Chief Whip and Whip respectively. Bathinda Rural MLA Rupinder Kaur Ruby has been retained as the second Whip following her decision to stick with the Delhi leadership.