About two months after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suspended its MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira from the party, the Bholath legislator on Sunday “formalised the disconnection” by quitting party’s primary membership citing Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s “dictatorial attitude”.
Khaira, who has quit AAP but plans to continue as an MLA in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, would announce his new party on Tuesday, January 8.
With this, Khaira become the second party MLA from Punjab to resign from AAP. Just days ago, senior advocate HS Phoolka had also resigned from the primary membership of the party reportedly because of AAP’s central leadership’s failure to take problems in the Punjab state unit seriously and to react to the feedback.
Mincing no words in his resignation letter addressed to Kejriwal, Khaira hit out at AAP supremo for “not holding his subedars accountable for the defeat in Punjab assembly elections”, and for his “hypocritical” approach.
“I am saddened to state that your dictatorial attitude has shattered the dreams of Indians and the Punjabis for a clean alternative to the decayed and rotten system,” said Khaira who was suspended from AAP in November last year for “anti-party activities”.
Hours later, AAP dubbed Khaira as “opportunist”, while asking him to step down as the MLA and re-contest from Bholath.
Asking Khaira to quit from the position of MLA as well, AAP’s senior leader and Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia maintained that the rebel leader’s exit will only strengthen the party.
“Sukhpal Khaira’s resignation was expected. Party will be strengthened with his exit. He should now resign from MLA also, which he won on the party ticket. Khaira started revolting against party since the post of LoP (Leader of Opposition) in Punjab was given to a Dalit leader,” tweeted Sisodia.
Accusing Khaira of trying to weaken the party, Sisodia said: “AAP will keep working for poor and marginalised people. Those who have problem in this can leave the party. Khaira was trying to weaken party and was openly revolting against the party since then. He tried to break party. Which organization can tolerate such behaviour?”
Sisodia, responding to Khaira’s allegations against Kejriwal’s “dictatorial attitude”, said: “Arvind Kejriwal always says that those who have come for position or power should leave the party. He was always clamouring for position and power.”
Khaira, who was suspended after his no holds barred attack on the party’s central and state leaderships, is expected to launch his new political party on January 8 in Chandigarh.
In December, Khaira had announced the formation of Punjab Democratic Alliance with Bains Brothers’ Lok Insaaf Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, AAP’s ‘suspended’ MP from Patiala Dr Dharamvir Gandhi and other ‘like-minded parties’ in the state. However, Khaira refused to join hands with SAD (Taksali) — a faction of SAD (Badal) comprising of traditional Akali stalwarts.
Khaira, in his resignation, accused that AAP has “totally deviated from the ideology and principles on which it was formed post Anna Hazare movement”.
He maintained that the “hierarchy in AAP” was similar to every other political party in India, while raising the issues of “favouritism and nepotism” in the party. “You have blatantly gone back on the most important promise of swaraj, by centralising all powers with yourself,” he said.
“You have also thrown to winds the constitution of the party merely to remain convenor and continue your grip on the party,” said Khaira in his letter to Kejriwal.
Saying that the people across the globe, including him, were highly impressed by the emergence of AAP on Indian political spectrum to cleanse the rampantly corrupt system, Khaira said: “But unfortunately, after joining the party, I realised that the hierarchy of AAP was no different from the traditional centralised political parties.”
He alleged that there was “no inner party democracy”, adding that reports “regarding money exchange, favouritism and nepotism” were received during 2017 Punjab assembly elections.
He also pointed Kejriwal’s “meek apology” to the drug-tainted former minister Bikram Singh Majithia dubbing it as his “double standards in politics”.
Also attacking Kejriwal for AAP’s possible alliance with the Congress, Khaira said: “Your hobnobbing and flirting with the Congress is yet another example of sheer political opportunism, that has left the people of India bewildered.”
Concluding, Khaira said: “Although you have already rewarded our good work by humiliatingly suspending me and Kanwar Sandhu from the party, but still I want to formalise the disconnection with you and AAP, by quitting its primary membership.”