Autonomy for Punjab unit was sought from Kejriwal: AAP MLA

The state and national unit of the party should function in an autonomous manner, Punjab AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu said today, adding that he had written a letter to the leadership in this regard in December last year.

The remark comes a day after MP Sangrur Bhagwant Mann resigned as the party's Punjab chief after AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal apologised for accusing SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia for being involved in the drugs trade.

Kejriwal's move landed the state leadership yesterday in a crisis and it had contemplated breaking away and forming a separate unit.

The legislator also said he had been seeking autonomy for the Punjab unit for the past three months and that he had shared the letter with the state's leaders, including Mann.

"In real the sense, an autonomy should be full autonomy which means that the state unit should have its own constitution, own membership, structure, funding and manifestoes. We will also have our own president and own working committee," Sandhu said.

The MLA had written to Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in December.

The central point of this letter is that the national unit of the party and state units function in an autonomous manner, he said.

The advantage of the distinct nature of national and state entities of the party would be that while their fortunes are not linked, they would gain from each other but not suffer on each other's account, Sandhu had written.

Notably, senior AAP leader H S Phoolka today asked state legislators to seek "autonomy" rather than going for a separate party "in the best interest of Punjab".

"In best interest of Pb, my suggestion to Pb AAP MLAs- demand autonomy, not a separate party. AAP Punjab should function as a regional party with a alliance with national AAP. In Punjab matters, total independence and on national issues, go by National leadership (sic)," Phoolka today tweeted.