MLA Sukhpal Khaira’s Arrest: Punjab Congress Leaders Urge Top Brass to Break Up with AAP – News18

The arrest of Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira by the Bhagwant Mann government in an alleged drug case has deepened the fissures between the INDIA bloc constituents Congress and Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. The Congress state unit has pressed the alarm bells, urging the high command to “detach” itself from any tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls.

The state unit fears more arrests of its other leaders and has urged the party’s top brass to exert pressure on the AAP leadership.

Six former Congress MLAs have been arrested by the Vigilance Bureau, including Soni, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, and former MLAs Kikki Dhillon, Satkar Kaur, and Joginder Pal.

Another five leaders, including former CM Chararnjit Singh Channi and former minister Brahm Mohindra are facing probes in disproportionate assets cases. Worse for the party, CM Mann recently indicated a probe against Amrinder Raja Warring into the state transport buses body fabrication case when the state Congress chief was the transport minister in the previous government. Warring has challenged Mann for a probe in the case and trashed allegations of wrongdoing.

Former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Randhawa said arresting an MLA for political extortion was highly reprehensible. “In a democracy, there is freedom of speech. But the police are being used to intimidate the Opposition. The CM should leave politics of revenge and focus on Punjab issues,” said Randhawa.

PPCC chief Warring, who has been regularly maintaining that no discussion on seat-sharing in Punjab has taken place and the party would go solo in the Lok Sabha polls, said it was a ploy by AAP to divert attention from real issues. “We will fight back and take Sukhpal Khaira’s case to its logical conclusion,” he said.

The state party leadership has informed the high command about the action against its Bholath MLA. “We had already alerted the party high command about the intent of AAP in Punjab,” Warring said.

Leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, who has been strongly opposing any alliance with AAP, said Khaira is the chairman of the national wing of the Kisan Congress and arresting an MLA smacked of political witch-hunting.