The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit of deliberately not allotting land to AAP for its Punjab unit office in Chandigarh.
Addressing a Press conference, AAP Punjab’s chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said despite being the national party and the ruling party of the state, the AAP is not being given an office space in Chandigarh by the governor (who is also the Administrator of the Union Territory Chandigarh.
Kang alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was conspiring to end Punjab’s authority over Chandigarh through the governor. “That is why the ruling party of Punjab is not being given land in Chandigarh to open its office,” he added.
He said AAP Punjab president and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wrote letters thrice to the governor on this issue but the matter is being deliberately ignored.
Kang pointed out that the BJP and the Congress have two offices each in Chandigarh. “The BJP has only two MLAs in Punjab. Akali Dal also has its own office. Then why is the Aam Aadmi Party not being allotted land for office,” the AAP leader asked.
He said the AAP has all the qualifications to get the land allotted for the office in Chandigarh. “AAP has a government in Punjab and Delhi, MLAs in Gujarat and Goa. Lok Sabha has one and Rajya Sabha has 10 MPs of the AAP. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation itself has the maximum number of 14 councilors from the Aam Aadmi Party. Then in what capacity is the Chandigarh administration refusing to give office land to the Aam Aadmi Party?,” Kang asked.
The AAP leader asked the governor to take a decision on this as soon as possible and allot a plot to the Aam Aadmi Party for office in Chandigarh, otherwise, to protest, the Aam Aadmi Party would run its office from outside the Raj Bhavan.
The UT Administration has turned down the AAP proposal for a plot in Chandigarh for the party’s Punjab unit office, claiming it didn’t meet the required criteria as AAP is not having an elected Lok Sabha member from Chandigarh in the last 20 years.