AAP rebel MLA Alka Lamba after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said that Ms. Gandhi “really wants” her back in the Congress.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Lamba said, “She asked me what I wanted and I told her that I have worked a lot for the people as an [AAP] MLA from Chandni Chowk and I want to be an MLA from the area again. Ms. Gandhi said that she really wants me back in Congress, but the party has to look for the best role for me.”
“She said that she will talk with the local leaders and take a call. If it was only about joining, I could have joined tomorrow,” she added.
Ms. Lamba has been maintaining the stand that she will contest on a Congress ticket if the party approaches her, else she will contest as an independent from Chandni Chowk.
In December 2018, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had sought disciplinary action against Ms. Lamba for being at the forefront of criticism against a demand by some AAP MLAs to recall the Bharat Ratna conferred on late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
This rift between Ms. Lamba and the party has been growing ever since, but she has not formally resigned from the party. She has been vocal against AAP for the last couple of months and has not been called for party meetings.
Commenting on Ms. Gandhi’s response, Ms. Lamba said, “It is good that she is talking to the local leaders before taking a decision. This is democracy and this is what is missing in AAP, where every decision is just being taken by one man.”
But, Ms. Lamba ruled out any possibility of joining the BJP. “I had switched my party at that point to stop BJP. But I never switched my ideology. I stand for secularism.”
Meeting after 6 years
The rebel AAP MLA said that she had met Ms. Gandhi after six years and had a fruitful conversation. “We talked about what is happening in the country — unemployment, economy, Delhi elections among other issues.”
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj refused to comment on the development.
