Hit by faction feud, the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Saturday decided to suspend senior party leaders Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Kanwar Sandhu, both MLAs, for attacking its Central and State leadership.
“[Khaira and Sandhu] have been consistently indulging in anti-party activities, and have continuously attacked Central and State leadership,” said a party statement The statement added that party’s core committee has decided to suspend Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Kharar MLA Kanwar Sandhu from the party with immediate effect after exhausting all the available avenues to assuage them and make them see reason.
“Indiscipline and anti-party activities cannot be tolerated at any level and the leaders and volunteers have to follow the rules set by the party,” said the statement.
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Mr. Khaira, termed the decision as an act of intolerance by the central leadership of the party. “Mr. Kejriwal does not have have the courage to listen to the truth,” he told reporters.
The party saw a rebellion by eight MLA’s out of its 20 MLAs after Mr. Khaira was removed from the post of leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly in July earlier this year by the central leadership and replaced with by Harpal Singh Cheema. The MLAs had termed the move as “’undemocratic”. Since then the Khaira-led faction has been demanding autonomy for party’s state unit.
The crises hit the party in March after AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised to former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia on the allegations levelled by him against Mr. Majithia of being involved in drugs trade.
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Mr. Khaira had then hit out at party’s central leadership, saying that by apologising to Mr. Majithtia in drugs trade case, Mr. Kejriwal has shown sign of ‘’mental weakness’’ and has ‘’surrendered’’.