For the Congress party in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s regret may divert during the impending Assembly session any possible attack for apology of progress made by the Capt Amarinder Singh Government during its first year in office.
While the main Opposition AAP and the SAD-BJP coalition were fully geared up with enough ammunition to attack the ruling Congress in the Budget session, starting from Tuesday, the Kejriwal’s “meek” apology has turned the tables on the Opposition parties.
Congress party, which would be meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss its floor strategy, would take full advantage of the Kejriwal’s apology to Bikram Majithia for the drug allegations he levelled against the SAD leader in the run-up to Assembly polls the previous year. It has not only placed AAP on the back-foot with the party being a divided house over the “apology episode”, but has also once again put the SAD in the dock, especially the former Minister Bikram Majithia, over the burning drug issue, following the “leak” of Special Task Force report.
Notwithstanding, both the Opposition outfits have made clear its intentions of making the Government answerable to the people for the tall promises it made with the people before the 2017 polls, including the farm debt waiver and farmers’ suicide, unemployment, salaries to employees, among others.
AAP, which held its legislature party meeting on Monday, has decided to forcefully take up the issues of farmer and ‘Khet Mazdoor’ suicides, betrayal with the youth on the false promise of ‘Har Ghar Naukri’, failure of Punjab Government to curb drugs, illegal mining, great discrimination with the SCs, BCs and other weaker sections of the society, among others.
Miffed over Kejriwal’s apology, AAP’s ally — the lok Insaaf Party — has also announced to parted ways. lIP has two MlAs — Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains — popularly known as Bains brothers.
Kejriwal’s apology has left the AAP divided between two power centres — with one headed by the leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira demanding “free hand” and full autonomy to the State leaders, while another owing allegiance to the Delhi leadership satisfied with Kejriwal’s decision. The divided Opposition may work in the favour of treasury benches. However, AAP MlA Aman Arora thinks the otherwise.
“We will be putting up a united show in the budget session...The government will be cornered on several issues, including farmers suicides, farm debt waiver, unemployment and ‘goonda tax’ and drug trade,” said Arora, whose resignation from the post of AAP’s state unit co-president was rejected by the party high command. He categorically denied that there was any crisis in the AAP. “Things have been sorted out...Our entire focus is on the budget session...rest of the things will be taken up after that,” he added.
SAD, on the other hand, has its own plans to corner the government on the issue of farm debt waiver.