Even as Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took strong umbrage to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s categorical support for Sikh Referendum 2020 and demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal clarify his stand, the Punjab AAP distanced itself from its leader’s statement.

Terming Khaira’s support for Sikh Referendum 2020 as personal opinion, AAP Punjab unit said on Saturday the party has nothing to do with this statement and threatened to take action against the AAP leader over the statement.

In a joint statement, the party’s co-president (Punjab) Dr Balbir Singh and zonal heads said AAP believes in the Indian Constitution, the country’s sovereignty and integrity and does not believe in nor supports any referendum which seeks division of the country.

The AAP leader said taking a serious view of Khaira’s statement, an explanation will be sought from him in the matter and the party will not hesitate to take action against leaders who act against the principles of party and the people of the country.

All legislators, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members of the party have vowed to follow the Indian Constitution and have full faith in the sovereignty of the country. Therefore the AAP does not support the internal and external forces which weaken the country, they said.

On Saturday, the Punjab Chief Minister took to Twitter to issue his terse message to Kejriwal along with posters of the referendum which Khaira had supported.

“Mr @ArvindKejriwal I strongly condemn the statement of your LOP @SukhpalKhaira supporting Referendum 2020 that aims for Punjab to secede from the Indian Union,” he wrote.

“Please clarify your stand on this & ask your partymen to act responsibly. Do see what this Referendum stands for,” added Singh.

Mr @ArvindKejriwal I strongly condemn the statement of your LOP @SukhpalKhaira supporting Referendum 2020 that aims for Punjab to secede from the Indian Union. Please clarify your stand on this & ask your partymen to act responsibly. Do see what this Referendum stands for👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/cX8MOsVR1w

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 16, 2018

In a statement, the Chief Minister demanded to know whether Khaira’s statement had the backing of the AAP central leadership, led by Arvind Kejriwal, or was he going off on a personal tangent, either out of sheer ignorance or to promote some vested personal interests.

“The AAP leadership should clarify their stand on this sensitive and explosive issue, which had the potential to destroy India’s peace and plunge Punjab back into the dark days of terrorism,” said Singh.

The Punjab CM also slammed Khaira, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, for backing the demand of the Sikh radicals.

In a statement issued in Chandigarh, Singh termed Khaira’s statement favouring the referendum as unfortunate, adding that the AAP leader seemed to be indulging in his usual political antics and theatrics, without any sense of the state’s history or any realisation of the possible consequences of his act.

“Punjab and its people had suffered for years due to the secessionist and separatist movement unleashed by the radicals,” pointed out Amarinder Singh, adding that Khaira seemed to be completely unmindful of what the state had been through and the dangers of his ill-thought out statement.

He dismissed as sheer hypocrisy the AAP leader’s claim that he stood for India’s unity while supporting the referendum, terming it a classic case of running with the hares and hunting with the hounds.

“Anyone supporting the controversial referendum, which was clearly designed to destroy India’s harmony, could not be a supporter of the country’s unity,” he said, adding that Khaira’s stand suggested that he stood for India’s dismemberment.

(With inputs from agencies.)