Turmoil within the Punjab unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has refused to die down, moving towards a possible split. Switching into a damage control mode, the party high command has convened an emergency meeting of all its MlAs in the Delhi Durbar on Sunday evening to resolve the prevailing crisis.
In the latest face-off between the two power centres — each headed by the state unit co-president Dr Balbir Singh and party’s legislative wing’s former leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, August 2 workers’ convention is the sticking point.
While a faction led by Khaira is preparing and holding meetings in run up to convention scheduled to be held at Bathinda, Dr Balbir on Sunday declared that the party would initiate strong action against those who will participate in the event, saying that Khaira could not take such decisions “on his own”.
Retorting, Khaira asked the “dummy president” Dr Balbir not to issue such threats, and declared that he would ensure that August 2 convention would be held.
However, two AAP MlAs — Dr Baljinder Kaur and Kultar Singh Sandhwan — have already announced that they will not attend the convention as it was “not a programme organized by the party”.
The war of words between the two ensued after the party high command decided to intervene in the ongoing internal crisis within the party, and asked all the party legislators to reach the national capital for the meeting late in the evening. Till the filing of this report, many of the MlAs were yet to reach the venue.
Apparently, to save the party from the possible break-up, the Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal has finally decided to take charge after a crisis hit the Punjab unit following Khaira’s unceremonious removal from the post of leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha.
Replaced by a Dalit MlA Harpal Singh Cheema, Khaira, backed by eight party legislators, lashed out at the party high command for the “undemocratic” decision to remove him from the coveted post “for speaking the truth”.
A faction, led by Khaira, has demanded “review” of the party’s decision to remove Khaira, alleging that opinion of MlAs were ignored by the high command.
The faction has also called a workers’ convention at Bathinda on August 2 for which all the state office bearers, MlAs, leaders, workers, and even central leaders have been invited to discuss Punjab’s burning issues, besides prevailing state of affairs in the party, and suggest solutions.
Khaira, who was in Barnala in the morning to muster support for the convention, met his MlA colleagues supporting him in Ambala later in the afternoon, and decided to participate in the meeting.
“We take all aspects in notice and decided to meet the high command, and tell them on their face what we have been doing either in writing or through press. Everyone agreed that we should not let go this opportunity to present our stand before the high command,” AAP MlA, owing allegiance to Khaira, told The Pioneer.
Khaira, at present, has the backing of eight, of the 20, AAP MlAs.