Punjab AAP unit to support Kejriwal, other politicians miffed: 10 updates

Former Punjab minister and SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia withdrew his defamation suit after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal offered written apology over 'unfounded' allegations levelled for years

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's apology to a SAD leader for accusing him of drugs trade pushed the party's Punjab unit into a crisis as the state leadership contemplated breaking away and forming a separate unit, saying the "meek surrender" was painful and very unfortunate.

Kejriwal's apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia triggered upheaval in the state unit as AAP's Punjab unit president and co-president Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora resigned their posts.

In a further jolt, the Lok Insaf Party (LIP), their ally in the state, announced to break its alliance with AAP in the wake of Kejriwal's apology.

"We have announced to break our alliance with the AAP. We cannot be associated with a party whose main leader meekly surrendered by tendering apology to former minister Bikram Singh Majithia," LIP leader and MLA Simrjeet Singh Bains said.

AAP state unit leaders also said they were now facing allegations whether Kejriwal had entered into an understanding with the Shiromani Akali Dal by tendering apology to Majithia in defamation case.

Kejriwal also earned wrath of the ruling Congress and SAD-BJP leaders, who accused him of being in the habit of making false allegations against his opponents to garner votes.

A two-round marathon meeting was held by the Punjab unit of AAP here in which a resolution on splitting from the Delhi unit and forming a separate unit was discussed, though a final decision was deferred.

As many as 20 MLAs including two legislators of Lok Insaf Party took part in the meeting in the morning even as a few legislators stayed away from the second round of the meeting held later in the evening.

"All MLAs condemned the apology tendered by Arvind Kejriwal without consulting the state leaders. This has made party's position in Punjab untenable and our party volunteers, our constituents and even our NRI supporters are very upset. Disussion took place what should be our next course of action, what is the next option for us.

"Two to three resolutions were kept, which were discussed thoroughly. One among these was whether we should split from the Delhi unit and form a separate unit or should we continue like this. Consensus could not be built on this even though majority MLAs wanted to break away. The members said they were very angry with this apology while others felt that they wanted to ask Delhi leadership on apology issue.

"Therefore, decision on this has been deferred for the time being," AAP senior leader from the state, Kanwar Sandhu told reporters.

Replying to a related question, Leader of Opposition and AAP senior leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the apology has been condemned said across the party's state unit.

"A vast majority of the leaders was of the view why a separate unit of Punjab AAP should not be formed which will have alliance with Lok Insaf Party and also forge alliance with like-minded parties and can even go to the extent of having former Punjab unit convenor Sucha Singh Chhotepur on board..," Khaira said, adding decision on this has been deferred for the time being.

ALSO READ: Kejriwal apologises to Majithia; AAP's Punjab leaders say 'meek surrender'

Here are the top 10 developments around Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Bikram Singh Majithia:

1) Delhi AAP Leadership to talk to Punjab leaders miffed over Kejriwal's apology: Sisodia

AAP's Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia said today that the party leadership will talk to state leaders, who are unhappy over Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, to solve the issue.

"We fight for the people on streets. It is not our work to fight in court. However, we will fight for people in court," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia said on the apology to Majithia.

"If we spend time in court, then how we will be able to spare time for the people?" he said.

2) STF found evidence against Majithia in drug trade: Sidhu

Sidhu on Friday said that the Special Task Force (STF) had found evidence against former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the drug trade.

Addressing media at his residence here, Sidhu said the Punjab government cannot ignore STF report which pointed out role of Majithia in the drug trade.

"STF has clearly said that there is substantial evidence of the role of Bikram Singh Majithia (in drug trade) which needs to be probed. Punjab Govt can't ignore these facts," Sidhu said.

3) Kejriwal exposed as a liar: BJP leader

BJP Delhi unit on Friday said he has exposed himself as a "liar".

The BJP also alleged that he was doing nothing even while the people of the national capital were facing a number of issues due to sealing.

Addressing a press conference here, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi unit President Manoj Tiwari said: " What we have been saying for long has been proved today. He is a liar. He has apologised to Majithia for making false allegations against him."

"He is on his way to apologise to (Union Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley ji and (Union Transport Minister) Nitin Gadkari ji for making false allegations," the BJP leader said.

4) Kejriwal has become weak: AAP leader

A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued an apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unit of Punjab on Friday said Kejriwal has become weak.

AAP unit of Punjab said Kejriwal tendered an apology to Majhithia without any consultation.

Speaking to media during a presser, AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said, "Strongly condemn Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Bikram Majithia. Nobody was consulted before he took this decision. This shows that he has become weak and also raises questions on his talks with Akali Dal. For me, welfare of Punjab's people is most important."

5) Kejriwal has 'murdered' AAP in Punjab: Sidhu

Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu said AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal had "murdered" his party in the state by apologising to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia.

The Delhi chief minister had yesterday apologised to Majithia for accusing him of being involved in the drug trade in Punjab, saying he had learnt that his allegations were unfounded.

"Today AAP has been murdered in Punjab by Kejriwal," Sidhu told reporters here.

Kejriwal's apology also drew flak from his party's leaders and MLAs in Punjab, who said they were "stunned" by the move and "disappointed" as he had not kept them in the "loop".

6) Bhagwant Mann quits as AAP's Punjab unit chief: A day after Kejriwal's apology to Majithia drew flak from state unit leaders, Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann today resigned as the AAP's Punjab chief. Mann announced his decision to resign on Twitter. "I m resigning as a president of AAP Punjab ... But my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an 'Aam Aadmi'of Punjab," he tweeted. 

7) Kejriwal's apology a 'betrayal' of Punjab's people: Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said today that "all of us in Punjab are saddened" to learn how Kejriwal apologised to Majithia when the state government's STF has submitted in the High Court that there is strong clinching evidence against the latter, news agencies reported. He added that AAP MLAs would gather and take stock of the situation.


 

Responding to whether they will snap the alliance with AAP, Lok Insaf Party's Simarjit Singh Bains said that Kejriwal's apology was a "betrayal to people of Punjab". He added that people would "not bear with it". 

"This is a non-issue, probably there is a back-door dealing behind it. Our MLAs will sit together & take a collective decision," said Bains. 

8) Arun Jaitley could be next on the list: There's another defamation case Kejriwal has to contend with -- the one filed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. After the chief minister issued his apology to Majithia, the question on many people's mind was whether the AAP supremo would extend a similar apology to Jaitley, too. Now, it appears that he just might.  

Sources in the AAP have indicated that the party might resort to a similar tactic for dealing with the defamation cases filed by Jaitley against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, agency reports said.  

In December 2015, Jaitley had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, and Deepak Bajpayee. Jaitley had claimed that Kejriwal and others made 'false and defamatory' statements in a case involving the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and in the process harmed his reputation. The finance minister sought Rs 100 million (Rs 10 crore) in damages.    

9) AAP's Punjab leaders cry 'meek surrender': The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab unit leaders called the apology to Majithia a "meek surrender". Further, they described Kejriwal's step as a "letdown". AAP's Punjab leaders could hardly suppress their astonishment and anger over the move. Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira took to Twitter and vented his disagreement with Kejriwal's actions. "We're appalled n stunned by the apology of @ArvindKejriwal tendered today, we don't hesitate to admit that we haven't been consulted on this meek surrender by a leader of his stature (sic)," Khaira tweeted. 





Further, senior AAP leader Kanwar Sandhu also reacted sharply. "Arvind Kejriwal' apology to Bikram Majithia in the defamation case on drugs is a let down to the people, especially the youth of Punjab. We in Punjab have not been taken into the loop. Our fight for Punjab continues," Sandhu tweeted. 

10) Apology part of AAP's legal strategy: While the party's Punjab leaders spoke out against the move, AAP's Delhi unit said that Kejriwal was facing dozens of criminal and civil cases related to defamation, violation of Section 144, putting hoardings and posters up during election campaigns, and public protests, among other things, in Delhi and other parts of India like Varanasi, Amethi, Punjab, Assam, Maharashtra, and Goa.  

Saurabh Bharadwaj, the spokesperson of AAP's Delhi unit, explained the rationale behind the move. Bharadwaj said that AAP leaders were facing cases "foisted by our political rivals to de-motivate us and keep our leadership busy in these legal matters". He added that most of these cases required personal appearance in court and that the decision to "amicably sort out" all such legal cases was a strategy "devised by the legal team of the party". 

"The political cases in Delhi have been put on fast track, forcing MLAs and ministers to virtually attend cases on daily basis in courts at Delhi and other states," Bharadwaj said. 

Majithia says defamation case is over: Majithia, for his part, has accepted Kejriwal's apology. "I thank Kejriwal for showing greatness in seeking apology for his remarks made against me. I have told my lawyers that from our side, this case ends as Kejriwal has sought apology. I have asked my counsels to withdraw the defamation case," the SAD leader said. "Person makes mistake and with the grace of God, if I have the ability to forgive and I will forgive," he added. 

"I had said from the beginning that either he will say sorry or he will go to jail. Sending someone to jail is not my intention," he asserted. "It is indeed a historical moment that a sitting chief minister has submitted a written apology in court withdrawing all statements he made against me," said Majithia.

On May 20, 2016, Bikram Singh Majithia filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and two other AAP leaders for allegedly "tarnishing" his reputation. Besides Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and Ashish Khaitan were also named in the case, which accused them of "tarnishing" the reputation of Majithia and his family members by levelling "false, baseless and malicious charges". The case was filed in the court of Civil Judge Gurpartap Singh in Amritsar under different sections of CrPC.  

Majithia had earlier filed a defamation case against these leaders in a Ludhiana court. 

While he accepted Kejriwal's apology, Majithia said that battling the allegations was a "very tortuous journey" for him. "The AAP, however, did not benefit as their candidate lost his security forfeited in my constituency," he added. 

Click here to read Majithia's side of the story regarding the allegations of being part of the drug trade made against him 

The controversy, which erupted after the allegations of being part of the drug trade were made against him, took a toll on his mother, Majithia said, adding that she could not understand that kind of politics. "My wife also went through a difficult phase, I thank the almighty that this chapter has ended and truth has prevailed," he said, adding, "If my two little kids were asked in school that your father does such things, you can imagine what could have been my position. What answer I could have given to them." 

AAP leader Ashish Khetan had apologised as well, he added.

 

With agency inputs