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Sukhpal Khaira group rules out quitting AAP

Aday after Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, challenged Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) rebel faction led by Sukhpal…

Sukhpal Khaira group rules out quitting AAP

Sukhpal Singh Khaira (Photo: SNS)

Aday after Member of Parliament (MP) from Sangrur, Bhagwant Mann, challenged Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) rebel faction led by Sukhpal Khaira to resign as members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and get re-elected to float a new party, later on Wednesday ruled out resigning from the AAP.

Addressing a Press conference, the sacked leader of Opposition and MLA, Khaira said AAP was not an individual’s party. “Punjabis all over the world have created it (AAP Punjab). We won’t resign from it,” he said adding that the party was take any disciplinary action as warned by Mann against the rebel group on Tuesday.

Countering Mann who had claimed Khaira and his close aide Kanwar Sandhu were fighting the AAP leadership in order to secure posts for themselves, the Bholath MLA (Khaira) said the main issued was not his removal as leader of Opposition but the “undemocratic decision” taken by the AAP high command.

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“The way the decision to remove me was taken in Twitter without any consultation with MLAs is wrong. After all, there is sanctity of the post the leader of Opposition,” he said. Khaira said ever since the Assembly polls, the AAP has been on a down slide in Punjab as indicated by recent polls results.

“We (AAP) got just 1900 votes in Shahkot Assembly poll and fear it would go further down if the situation in the party remains the same. There is no party organisation in about 60 Assembly constituencies,” he said.

Breaking his silence for the first time since the recent rebellion by a group of eight AAP legislators under the leadership of Khaira, the Lok Sabha member from Sangrur had on Tuesday alleged that both Khaira and Sandhu were opportunists who were misguiding party MLAs and workers for their own cause.

Mann, claimed Sandhu had told the AAP’s Punjab incharge to appoint him as new leader of Opposition instead of Harpal Singh Cheema and promised to ensure Khiara’s protest would come to an end.

“AAP leadership was all good for Khaira till he continued as leader of Opposition and the moment he was removed, Arvind Kejriwal (AAP national convenor) became a dictator for him. These people (Khaira and Sandhu) are opportunists and after posts (kursi),” he said. Mann alleged for their own personal agenda, Khaira was making the party’s latest turmoil into a fight between Punjab and Delhi.

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