As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is dealing with the fallout of suspended Delhi water resources minister Kapil Mishra’s serious corruption allegations against party chief Arvind Kejriwal, the party seems to be in trouble once again, and this time in Punjab.
The party’s decision to appoint Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann as the Punjab unit president has not gone down well with other leaders, including Sukhpal Khaira who resigned as the chief whip and party spokesperson.
AAP’s outgoing convener – Gurpreet Singh Waraich also questioned the “urgency” in appointing Mann as the new state chief and asked under “what pressure” this decision was taken.
The decision to appoint Bhagwant Mann as the Punjab unit chief was taken at a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee, which was chaired by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence.
Apparently upset over his removal as the convener of the Punjab unit, Waraich said he would soon talk to the media on the issue.
In September 2016, Waraich was made the state convener. He replaced Sucha Singh Chhotepur who was sacked from the post on the charge of allegedly accepting money from a party volunteer.
Mann’s appointment comes days after he criticised the party’s handling of the Punjab Assembly elections. The party, which made its electoral debut in the state, managed 20 seats in the 117-member House. The Congress had swept to power with 77 seats.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal is reportedly finding difficult to explain the source of party funding. The AAP party is also allegedly having issues with furnishing all the necessary documents to the Income Tax department.
According to reports, the IT department was forced to issue a showcause notice to the party which instructed the officials to appear before the authorities on May 15 along with the necessary documents.
