Two days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statement on the Indian Army’s surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir snowballed into a controversy, Aam Aadmi Party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) - the decision making body - held a meeting on Wednesday evening.
The meeting held at the Chief Minister’s residence saw discussions on the on-going debate on surgical strikes and ways to tackle the opposition. “The BJP is politicising the issue, especially by engaging in poster campaigns after the surgical strikes. We condemn that,” said a senior party leader, referring to the posters that have come up across the country congratulating Prime Minister Modi.
While the BJP has demanded Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation for ‘questioning the Indian Army on the surgical strike’, the AAP leaders, in a damage control exercise, had praised the Prime Minister and the Army.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who is also a member of the PAC, said that Mr Kejriwal never wanted “proof”, but only asked the government to counter the false propaganda of Pakistan. “We salute the Prime Minister and we stand by him for whatever steps he takes to counter Pakistan,” Mr. Singh said. A decision was also taken to mobilise volunteers to help villagers who have been shifted from borders areas due to the on-going tension between the two countries.
Focus on Punjab polls
With Punjab elections still one of the main issues, the PAC cleared nearly 20 names for the Assembly polls scheduled to be held in Punjab and Goa next year. The party has already released two lists of candidates in Punjab and one list of four candidates in Goa. According to party sources, a third list for Punjab is expected to be released soon.
AAP reviews on-going debate on Army’s surgical strikes, blames BJP for politicising issue