The Sunam MLA said that he was not challenging anyone’s authority but he had all the right to disagree with a statement which harmed the party’s image.After the ruling Congress in Punjab, the ongoing drama over the probe in Bargari sacrilege and subsequent Behbal Kalan firing cases has brought to the fore differences within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with its legislator from Sunam Saturday openly ridiculing the stand taken by Leader of Opposition Harpal Cheema and other party leaders over the contentious issue.
Sunam MLA Aman Arora said a statement issued by Cheema and other leaders Friday stating that the AAP, the man Opposition party in Punjab, has lost all hopes of getting justice in the sacrilege cases, has “hurt me”.
There is no doubt that in last four years, successive SAD-BJP and Congress governments in Punjab as well as the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) “have done nothing” in the Bargari and Behbal Kalan cases to “deliver justice” and had been working only to draw political mileage for the Badal-Captain duo, Arora said in a statement. “But then that does not mean that AAP, despite being the principal Opposition party in the state, should leave all hopes of getting justice. Such a negative statement has hurt me,” he said.
Arora advised that before issuing such a negative and demoralizing statement, the state leadership should not forget that AAP is a product of agitation and had its convenor Arvind Kejriwal left the agitation midway, Delhi today would not have got an honest and transparent government. “Had the freedom fighters left struggle after the failure of 1857 rebellion midway, we might have still not got independence,” he said.
The Sunam MLA said that without any doubt, the “current political scenario is absolutely against free and fair probe of the said cases”, but “hopes need to be kept alive” and “struggle for that needs to continue”. He assured Punjab that the day AAP assumes power in state, justice will be delivered and culprits will be behind bars in no time.
A joint statement issued Friday and quoting Cheema, deputy Leader of Opposition Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, AAP core committee chairman Budh Ram, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Prof Baljinder Kaur, Rupinder Kaur Ruby, Jai Krishan Singh Rori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, and Kulwant Singh Pandori (All MLAs), had said that AAP had lost all hopes of getting justice in the sacrilege cases from those holding power in Punjab.
Contacted, Arora said that he had not said anything against the party. “All I have done is speak up against the statement of my colleague, who holds the office of the Leader of Opposition. In my view this is a meek and weak statement, which should not have been issued,” he said.
The Sunam MLA said that he was not challenging anyone’s authority but he had all the right to disagree with a statement which harmed the party’s image. “I received 10 phone calls this morning from party workers who asked what kind of statement has been issued. We have received a heavy mandate from the people. Can we let that all go and just sit,” he asked.
Differences between Arora has other senior party leaders including Cheema and Budh Ram, have been simmering for the past several weeks. Arora has been keeping away from party events attended by these leaders. He also skipped a meeting called by party state president Bhagwant Mann earlier this week.
Cheema refused to make any comments saying that he will first have to consult his colleagues. “I have learnt about this statement from you, let me consult other party leaders and I will then make a comment,” he told The Sunday Express.
Cheema has been facing leadership challenges from within the AAP legislature group and it is learnt that the Delhi leadership of the party has rejected move by one faction of MLAs to have him removed from the post of Leader of Opposition.
Prior to the Lok Sabha polls, there had been reports that Arora was in talks with the Congress for switching over. This had led him to issue vehement denials saying that a deliberate campaign had been launched to villify him. However, lately Arora said that AAP needs to introspect on the way forward and to ensure that a robust state organisation is in place before the next assembly polls in 2022. He had said this in context of the drastic fall in vote share of the party in 2019 Lok Sabha polls as compared to the 2017 assembly polls.
AAP, which emerged as largest Opposition party in Punjab after the 2017 Assembly elections with 20 MLAs, is now left with only 15 as five of them have either resigned or their membership is under challenge for having joined another party.
