Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba has been sacked as the party’s spokesperson for her statement on Transport Minister Gopal Rai being relieved of his charge.
Confirming the development, senior party leaders said the decision was taking because Ms. Lamba “deviated from the party line”.
Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba came under fire for telling the media that Gopal Rai had been “relieved” of his portfolio so that the AAP government’s premium bus scheme could be investigated by the Anti-Corruption Branch in a free and fair manner.
The AAP, however, has been saying that Mr. Rai gave up the Transport portfolio on health grounds. In fact, he had recently undergone a surgery at Apollo Hospital, after which a bullet stuck in his neck since 17 years was removed.
Reacting to the move, Alka Lamba, who is also a parliamentary secretary, said she was a disciplined worker who respected the party’s decision. “If I have inadvertently made any mistake then I will do penance for it so that my party, which has been fighting corruption, does is harmed because of me,” Ms. Lamba tweeted.
However, this isn’t the first time that the AAP has been miffed with Ms. Lamba. She has faced flak on earlier occasions for her statements and comments on social media.
A close aid of the Chief Minister said: “Gopal Rai is recovering from a big surgery and it was insensitive on Ms. Lamba’s part to issue such statements. We had been given instructions not to talk or post anything if not aware of the party line. Moreover, Arvind Kejriwal had already given a statement on this issue so there was no need for her to do so,” he said.
At a press conference on Thursday, AAP’s Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey had said that the Transport Minister was relieved of the post “purely” on health grounds. “His health was really bad and the party is concerned about him. He still spends around 95 per cent of his time in hospitals. The party decided to relieve him of the portfolio, which consumes a lot of time and energy. This will allow him to concentrate on his health,” Mr. Pandey had said.
The Transport Department has been handed over to Health Minister Satyendar Jain even as the BJP and Congress termed it a fallout of an ACB probe into the AAP’s app-based premium bus service scheme.
The MLA invited trouble for her remark about Gopal Rai being relieved
of his charge
