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Amid internal strife in Panthers Party, Harsh Dev meets Sisodia
JAMMU : Amid internal strife within the Panthers Party, party chairman and former education minister Harsh Dev Singh met AAP leader and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia at New Delhi on Wednesday
JAMMU : Amid internal strife within the Panthers Party, party chairman and former education minister Harsh Dev Singh met AAP leader and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia at New Delhi on Wednesday.
Singh’s meeting with Sisodia has further fuelled speculation that he may join the AAP. “Today’s meeting with Manish Sisodia is a precursor and indicates the shape of things to come,” said one of Harsh Dev Singh’s close confidants.
“Due to internal fight, the Panthers Party has reached its dead end and the party cadre is feeling suffocated,” he added.
The Panthers Party was founded on March 23, 1982, by Prof Bhim Singh and a few prominent youth political personalities.
Harsh Dev was thrice elected to the then legislative assembly from the Ramnagar constituency in 1996, 2002 and 2008.
Differences have cropped up between Harsh Dev and his uncle professor Bhim Singh, who had recently lodged a complaint with Jammu SSP claiming that the former had issued threats to him.
Consequently, a video went viral on the social media where Harsh Dev was seen apologising to his uncle, besides blaming him for “ruining” the party just for a “woman”, which Harsh Dev Sigh didn’t name.
On February 13, the Panthers Party had suffered a setback when its entire Samba district unit resigned from the primary membership of the party.
The district president of Samba, Rajeshwar Singh, had said the unit resigned due to “reckless attitude” of the party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev.
Jaya Mala, wife of Prof Bhim Singh and one of the founder members of Panthers Party, has come out openly in favour of Harsh Dev and pledged all out support to the former education minister.
On February 10 last year, the party had suffered a major jolt when former MLA from the Udhampur assembly constituency and party president Balwant Singh Mankotia had resigned from the party.
The two-time MLA and former minister from Samba constituency, Yash Paul Kundal, has also decided to part ways with the party.
“I haven’t decided yet to join the AAP or any other party. I am holding threadbare discussions with my people and will go by their unanimous decision,” Kundal said on March 31.
“But one thing is sure that I am not going to stay with the Panthers Party any longer. It has reached at the brink of disintegration because of internal strife. For now, I am visiting my people in Samba constituency holding parleys with them and whatever they say, I would go by their unanimous decision,” Kundal had said.
It has been learnt that Mankotia and Kundal were also likely to join the AAP in coming days.
