AAP suspends ex-MLA Jarnail Singh over ‘objectionable’ Facebook post
The former Rajouri Garden MLA, denied the charge and said that his son had accidentally pasted a post using the phone for online classes.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday suspended former MLA Jarnail Singh from the primary membership of the party over his alleged comments on Hindu goddesses. However, Singh claimed the post was accidentally copy-pasted by his son who was handling his phone during an online class.
The decision to suspend the former Rajouri Garden legislator was taken in the party’s Political Affairs Committee on August 11, said AAP’s Tilak Nagar MLA who is also named Jarnail Singh, in a Facebook post.
“Jarnail Singh (former MLA, Rajouri Garden) has been suspended from the primary membership of the party by Aam Aadmi Party. The decision has been taken in the meeting of the Aam Aadmi Party’s PAC while taking disciplinary action on the use of wrong dictionary about Hindu goddesses on day 11.08.2020 by Jarnail Singh (former MLA Rajouri Garden). The party has issued a reason notice to them why they should be dismissed from the primary membership of the party for this disgraceful act,” read the post by the party’ Punjab incharge.
Saying that the AAP is a secular party, the Tilak Nagar MLA said that there is no place in the party for anyone who disrespects any religion.
“The Sikh community is also very sad with their statement because such misfortune against any community is also against the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Aam Aadmi Party is a secular party and has no place in the party of anyone who disrespects any religion. Aam Aadmi Party strongly condemns this statement by Jarnail Singh (former MLA, Rajouri Garden) and is suspended from the basic membership of the party with immediate effect,” said Singh.
However, the former Rajouri Garden MLA, denied the charge and said that his son had accidentally pasted a post using the phone for online classes.
“Yesterday I had my phone with my little son for online class. He pasted a post copy and post. What I had deleted. I respect all the names of God Ram, Gobind, Keshav, Sadashiv and follow the principles of Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib,” he said in a Facebook Post on August 12.
The former legislator shot to limelight in 2009 after hurling a shoe at former finance minister P Chidambaram. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from West Delhi, losing to BJP’s Parvesh Verma.
A prominent Sikh face of AAP, Jarnail Singh was later elected to the Delhi Assembly from Rajouri Garden in 2015. He resigned in 2017 to contest the Punjab assembly polls from Lambi constituency -- against former CM Parkash Singh Badal and Congress stalwart (and current CM) Amarinder Singh. Jarnail Singh lost the polls. He is currently active in the Punjab unit of the AAP.