The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership of selling party tickets for the forthcoming Assembly elections.

In a statement, SAD spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said demanded the Election Commission take cognisance of these corrupt activities and direct registration of an appropriate case in the matter.

Cheema said AAP and Kejriwal had been thoroughly exposed with its senior leaders themselves giving proof of party tickets being sold in 56 constituencies. He said Kejriwal was the first politician who had officially criminalised the election system by openly soliciting bribes.

The SAD leader said it was only yesterday that the party had distributed pamphlets asking people to take money from other parties but vote for it.

Dr Cheema said it was now clear that Kejriwal was enriching himself by selling party tickets. He said with AAP following the same model everywhere the same corrupt activities must be going on also in other States going to the polls. “Only a high-level independent inquiry can uncover the scope of this scam which runs into crores of rupees,” he added.

The SAD leader said Kejriwal was simultaneously resorting to dirty politics by misusing technology to level false and mischievous allegations against his political opponents. He said Kejriwal knew that he had nothing to show to people in Punjab with his Delhi model being a complete flop show.

“This is why he is now banking on big money bags to win the assembly election. However he is destined to fail miserably as Punjabis have seen through his web of lies and deceit and will never repose trust in him again,” Dr Cheema added.

On Friday, AAP workers created a ruckus at the Press conference held by AAP’s Punjab co-in-charge, Raghav Chadha in Jalandhar. The incident took place when Chadha was to induct Dinesh Dhall, a former Congress leader, into the party.

The supporters of the two contenders for the party ticket raised black flags and slogans against Chadha. The AAP workers protesting against their own party raised slogans like “Raghav Chadha Chor Hai”.

Balbir Singh Rajewal, founder of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) and the political front of farmer unions Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), has also alleged AAP is selling tickets in Punjab. When asked if there was any possibility of forming an alliance with AAP, he denied the possibility and said, “AAP is behaving like other traditional parties, where tickets are sold. We have proof of it. AAP wants to take Punjab water to Delhi.”