The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab has plunged into further trouble in Punjab with the party’s top leader, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, accusing state co-president Dr Balbir Singh of conspiring and backstabbing against him in order to get him removed as leader of Opposition.
The fresh crisis comes within a week after 16 AAP leaders, mostly belonging to the faction led by Khaira, resigned en masse in protest against the ‘dictatorial attitude’ of Dr Balbir Singh.
In the latest episode of infighting between top AAP leaders, Khaira went public against Dr Singh through a video on Facebook alleging that the latter told a group of party workers that he took cash from party workers recently.
Khaira, who represents Bholath constituency in the Assembly, said Dr Singh is doing such things as part of the conspiracy to poison the minds of AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, who is in-charge of party affairs in Punjab, to have him removed from the post of leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.
“This kind of conspiracy, backstabbing and character assassination is intolerable. He (Balbir) should retract his allegations and tender an apology to me or get an impartial inquiry done into these allegations,” he said in the Facebook video, citing a party worker’s claim that Dr Singh made the statement during an interaction with some party workers.
Khaira claimed to have confronted Dr Singh on the matter over phone who told him he (Khaira) won’t meet him or talk to him till he (Dr Singh) takes his charge back. The two-time legislator Khaira also urged the party to hold an inquiry and take action if he is found guilty.
On his part, Dr Singh termed the allegations as ‘bogus’ and accused the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of trying to create a rift in the AAP. “They are playing a dirty game. We should not fall for it,” he said.
Responding to Khaira’s statement, Dr Singh said there was no truth in the conspiracy charge.
“I have high regard for him. Nothing of the sort happened. The person who is being quoted has made an utterly baseless claim. I don’t know that person,” he said.
This is, however, not the first time that Khaira and Dr Singh have indulged in a war of words. Dr Singh and Khaira recently contradicted each other on the party’s stand on “Referendum 2020” propounded by Sikh radicals for the creation of Khalistan.
After Khaira expressed support for Referendum 2020, Dr Singh issued a statement saying that AAP did not support what Khaira had said and that an explanation will be sought from him on his statement.
The AAP high command had given Dr Singh the responsibility of forming the organisational structure. But apparently some of the appointments made by him have not gone well with a section of party leaders who feel he is undermining dedicated party workers in such appointments to party posts in order to place his own men.