Master Baldev Singh, MLA from Jaito who is considered close to rebel leader Sukhpal Khaira, resigned from primary membership of the AAP Wednesday.
Chandigarh: Just about two years ago, the Aam Aadmi Party was considered a major up-and-coming political force in Punjab. Now, it resembles a house of cards.
Wednesday saw AAP MLA from Jaito, Master Baldev Singh, resign his primary membership of the party, becoming the third lawmaker to do this after senior advocate H.S. Phoolka and former leader of the opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
“Instead of expressing faith in the abilities of Punjabis and rewarding them you preferred to send an army of outsiders to muzzle the voice of our people. The said army was headed by two arrogant subedars who indulged in every mean maneuvers (sic) to promote their near and dear ones,” wrote Baldev Singh in a resignation letter addressed to party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“Thereafter all sorts of allegations including exchange of money, favouritism, nepotism and exploitation of women started gaining ground. Lots of AAP volunteers from Punjab tried to complain about their arrogant activities but you always turned a blind eye to save your blue eyed boys. This arrogant and over confident attitude of the party hierarchy led to a crashing defeat of AAP in Punjab in the 2017 assembly elections.
“As a result of your dictatorial, arrogant and autocratic style of functioning, pioneers of AAP like Prashant Bhushan, Yogender Yadav, Medha Patikar, Kiran Bedi, Dr. Gandhi, H.S.Khalsa, Sucha Singh Chottepur, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh, H.S.Phoolka etc. have all left the party or have been thrown out in a humiliating manner.”
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Revolving door
Baldev Singh belongs to the AAP faction led by Sukhpal Singh Khaira, which had rebelled against the Delhi leadership last year. Khaira and Kanwar Sandhu had been suspended for anti-party activities in November last year, and eventually, the former resigned from the party on 6 January, citing Kejriwal’s “dictatorial attitude”.
He has launched his own party, the Punjab Democratic Alliance, and intends to bring together “like-minded parties and individuals”, like Lok Insaaf Party MLAs the Bains brothers and Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, suspended from AAP.
Phoolka, meanwhile, resigned from the party on 3 January, having resigned the Dakha assembly seat in October to protest against the Congress government’s failure to act against Akali Dal leaders for incidents of sacrilege in the state. He is vehemently opposed to the potential alliance between AAP and the Congress.
Phoolka has constituted the Sikh Sewak Sangathan with an aim to rid the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs, from political control.
Also read: Two days after quitting AAP, Khaira floats political outfit ‘Punjab Ekta Party’
No clarity over MLAs’ status
Despite the AAP MLAs’ resignations, there is no clarity over their status. Phoolka’s resignation from AAP membership has not been accepted by the party, while his resignation as an MLA has not been accepted by the assembly Speaker. So, AAP continues to claim him as an MLA.
Similarly, since the party has not accepted Khaira’s resignation, he continues to be the AAP MLA from Bholath.
Sources in the Vidhan Sabha say that Schedule 10 of the Constitution clearly lays down that in case an MLA resigns from the party on the symbol of which he had contested the polls, his membership of the assembly will come to an end. But traditionally, a Speaker does not take suo motu cognisance of reports and act on them — he has the prerogative to wait for an official communication from the party concerned to initiate action.
The Speaker can also initiate action in case he receives a complaint from a citizen of India questioning such an MLA continuing in the assembly.
“In the case of Khaira, one such complaint has been received from a Bholath resident, and in a day or two, a notice will be issued to Khaira to explain his position in writing. Khaira will be given a personal hearing, before the Speaker takes a call on the complaint,” said a Vidhan Sabha source.
In case Khaira, Phoolka and Baldev Singh are disqualified from the Vidhan Sabha, the state would head for three bypolls.