Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday assured that the Aam Aadmi Party was “committed” to the Opposition's INDIA bloc, amid a fresh row between his party and the Congress in Punjab following Sukhpal Singh Khaira's arrest in an old drugs case. “The AAP will not separate ways from INDIA alliance,” he said at a press conference.
However, Kejriwal also said his party remains committed to ending the drug menace in Punjab.
“Yesterday, I heard that the Punjab Police arrested a Congress leader (Sukhpal Singh Khaira) in connection with drugs. I don't have the details, you will have to speak to the Punjab Police about the same…but the Bhagwant Mann government, the AAP government is committed to ending the drug menace,” Kejriwal said.
He added, “In the fight against the drug menace, nobody will be spared however big or small position they might be in.”
Also read: Punjab Congress leader's arrest brings spotlight to his last social media post
Khaira's arrest flared up the fight between AAP and Congress with the leaders belonging to the latter slamming the Kejriwal-led party.
On Thursday, the Punjab Police raided the Congress MLA's Chandigarh house and arrested him in connection with an old case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. During the raids, Khaira also went live on Facebook where he can be seen arguing with the police saying the case was already quashed by the Supreme Court. The police, in turn, responded by saying that his arrest was on the recommendation of a probe conducted by an SIT led by a DIG rank officer and two SSPs.
{{/usCountry}}On Thursday, the Punjab Police raided the Congress MLA's Chandigarh house and arrested him in connection with an old case registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. During the raids, Khaira also went live on Facebook where he can be seen arguing with the police saying the case was already quashed by the Supreme Court. The police, in turn, responded by saying that his arrest was on the recommendation of a probe conducted by an SIT led by a DIG rank officer and two SSPs.
{{/usCountry}}Hours later, a Jalalabad court remanded Khaira, who represents the Bholath constituency in the Punjab assembly, in two days’ police custody.
Congress leaders hit out
Criticising CM Mann, Khaira slammed the AAP government outside the court complex saying, “They (the Aam Aadmi Party leaders) used to say that we are doing ‘badlaav ki rajneeti (politics of change)’ but they are doing ‘badle ki rajneeti (politics of revenge)’.”
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also hit out at the AAP government in the state, calling it an act of “political vendetta”.
“The recent arrest of @INCPunjab MLA @SukhpalKhaira ji smacks of Political Vendetta, it is an attempt to intimidate the opposition and is a ploy of the @AAPPunjab govt to distract from core issues. We stand strongly with Sukhpal Khaira and will take this fight to its logical conclusion,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.