Aam Aadmi Party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Sunday defended party’s Punjab unit “dismissed” convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur saying that “a conspiracy against him could not be ruled out”.
The leader — who Chhotepur named as one of the people who supported him — said that the party’s decision to sack the leader had shaken AAP’s volunteers in the state as well as its supporters abroad.
Khaira also asked the party to reconsider candidates for some of the assembly seats “for the sake of disappointed party workers”.
However, he dismissed Chhotepur’s claims that Kejriwal was “anti-Sikh” and allegations from some quarters that the party’s national convener was an outsider, although he admitted that the AAP’s central leadership should to allow Punjab’s unit to have a greater say in the party’s state affairs. Terming Chhotepur’s removal as “unfortunate”, Khaira said that now the time is ripe that Delhi leadership should give more powers to Punjabis and have faith in Punjabis.
“There is no doubt that Delhi leaders, Durgesh Pathak and Sanjay Singh, have done a lot to build the party in Punjab but now they should also believe in Punjabis a little bit more and give them more responsibilities, so that they (Punjabis) should feel that it (AAP) is their own party”, Khaira told reporters here today.
Khaira’s statement comes days after AAP removed Chhotepur from the position of Punjab convener until a committee investigated allegations that he had accepted a “bribe” from a volunteer after a "sting" video surfaced.