Sting on Chottepur was 'conspiracy' by AAP: Mahal

Rebelling against his party just days ahead of the polls in Punjab, AAP leader Gurlabh Singh Mahal today claimed the sting operation against expelled Sucha Singh Chottepur was a "well planned conspiracy" hatched by party leaders as his growing stature posed a threat to Arvind Kejriwal.
Mahal alleged that the "well planned conspiracy" was hatched by Aam Aadmi Party leaders like Sanjay Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Himmat Singh Shergill and Harjot Bains.
After Mahal's video, showing Chottepur taking bribe and which went viral, AAP expelled him from the party even as he denied the charge.
Later, he floated Apna Punjab Party (APP) and fielded its candidates in the upcoming Punjab polls.

"Chhotepur had emerged as a Sikh face in Punjab with majority of the party activists backing him. This eventually did not go down well with Kejriwal who hatched a conspiracy to sack Chottepur," Mahal alleged.
Chottepur was "sacrificed at the altar of Kejriwal's ego, ambition and insecurity," he said.

An activist of AAP since 2013, Mahal is the joint secretary of the party's 'Legal Cell' in Punjab.
"Surprisingly, based on my sting which was inconclusive, AAP went on and removed Chottepur as convenor of Punjab Unit," he said.
Responding to a question that why he chose to disclose it just ahead of the polls, Mahal said, "My conscience had been pricking me for a long time now. If it wouldn't have been now, it wouldn't have been ever. I think, it is good that I took the decision to expose Kejriwal, even if it is two days before the polls. Post polls, the burden would not have ever come off.