Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 29: Despite the running war the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is fighting against Congress in Punjab over the arrest of a Congress MLA, the AAP supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said his party was committed to maintain the INDIA alliance of opposition bloc.
An assurance was also forthcoming from the veteran leader Sharad Pawar, the president of the Nationalist Congress Party, who said on Friday that the INDIA bloc would take precautions to ensure that there were no disputes among its alliance partners in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where elections are due in a few months.
Mr Kejriwal’s reassurance to maintain the INDIA unity came even after the Punjab Congress leaders Partap Singh Bajwa and the state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday claimed they were not allowed to meet arrested party MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in Fazilka.
Mr Khaira was arrested here on Thursday by the Punjab Police in connection with a 2015 drug trafficking case. After his arrest, the MLA from Bholath was produced in a court in Fazilka’s Jalalabad and remanded in police custody for two days. On Friday, Mr Bajwa, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the state, Mr Warring, and other senior leaders went to meet Mr Khaira, who is under the custody of Punjab Police in Fazilka.
“We wanted to meet our colleague and assure him that his party and we all stand behind him. But the police did not permit us to meet him,” Mr Bajwa told reporters in Fazilka complaining against the Punjab police under the AAP dispensation.
Kejriwal who had earlier played down the talks of infighting within the INDIA, once again sought to calm troubled waters. “AAP is committed to INDIA… AAP will not separate from INDIA alliance,” he told reporters. However, he also said his party remains committed to the war on drugs. “I have come to know Punjab Police arrested some Congress leader yesterday. I do not have details… you can get from the police. We have waged a war against drugs… I will not comment on any individual case but we are committed to ending addiction.”
Khaira’s arrest has spawned a rapidly escalating AAP vs Congress fight. Both are part of the INDIA bloc that hopes to work together to defeat the BJP in this year’s state and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. For the latter they were to hold talks to divide Punjab’s 13 seats, as well as seven in Delhi and 26 in Gujarat.
Earlier in the day the sources said Punjab Congress leaders told their high command the AAP was “targeting” senior figures, and cited the arrests of ex-ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and ex-Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni. All three were arrested before Khaira who is now in police custody.
Amarinder Raja Warring claimed he was stopped from meeting Mr Khaira. He attacked both Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the police, and said Governor Banwari Lal Purohit had been briefed about the “false case” against Mr Khaira. “We can’t be silent. We will fight till the end…” he declared.
In his first comments on the row, Congress national boss Mallikarjun Kharge said “if anyone does injustice to us, then we are not the ones who will tolerate it.” “I will take its details… but whatever may be the case, if someone does injustice, they don’t survive for long,” he said.
The AAP has dismissed claims of a “political vendetta” and has insisted that Sukhpal Khaira’s arrest was part of its “zero tolerance policy” against drugs. An AAP Punjab spokesperson said “sufficient admissible evidence” had been found. He blamed the earlier Shiromani Akali Dal government for not arresting Mr Khaira at the time.
Mr Khaira’s arrest was significant as he has been particularly vociferous in protests against any deal with the AAP in the state. He is also Chairman (at national level) of the Congress’ Kisan Cell and is therefore both a party office-bearer and lawmaker. And it isn’t just the Congress’ state leaders refusing to play ball; Minister Anmol Gagan Mann has claimed “directions” from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to insist the AAP will contest all 13 seats. The AAP defeated the Congress in last year’s Punjab Assembly election – 92 seats to 18, a surprising and dominant win.
A Punjab Congress delegation had on Thursday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit, complaining about the alleged fake case. The Punjab Congress has already opposed any alliance with the ruling AAP in the state for the general elections.
Mr Pawar did not feel the current Congress – AAP clash could grow into collapse of INDIA bloc. “When elections near, the possibility of differences (among INDIA bloc partners) cannot be ruled out. However, we will sort the issues by sending neutral leaders from the alliance,” he said. Mr Pawar stressed that elections were due in a few months in four to five states and that is more important for them.
“INDIA bloc will see how all the alliance partners come on one page in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. After returning to Mumbai, I will hold discussions with Congress and other party leaders and we will take precautions to ensure that there are no disputes among the alliance partners (in these states),” he said. This process will start in the next eight to ten days, the NCP chief said.
Assembly elections are due in a few months in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
Replying to a question about apparent friction in West Bengal as the Congress has staked claim to some seats, the veteran politician said there were no elections there in the immediate future.
