New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday slammed his allies, the Bains brothers of Lok Insaf Party (LIP), for 'insulting' the new Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly.
Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener, claimed that LIP leader Simarjeet Bains had "insulted" a Dalit leader and his views were "disgusting".
The cold war between the two allies began on Thursday when AAP’s Punjab Affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia announced that they would replace Sukhpal Khaira with Harpal Singh Cheema, a Dalit MLA from Dirba in Sangrur district.
Disappointed over the decision, Bhains referred Cheema as 'AAP's pappu' (fool) during an interview with a media organisation. The statement drew a sharp reaction from Delhi chief minister, who said that LIP leader's “views on Dalits were disgusting”.
“The Bains brothers have such disgusting views on Dalits. It is very shameful. Bains should ask the entire Dalit community for forgiveness. BJP, Congress, Akali Dal and Bains, all have such views on Dalits. They will always commit crimes against Dalits. It is precisely against this mindset that the AAP has declared a Dalit as the next LoP in Punjab,” Kejriwal said.
The alliance between the AAP and the LIP, which came together before the 2017 Punjab Assembly polls, has been on shaky ground following Khaira’s sacking. AAP leaders have accused LIP of attempting to break up the party, even though Khaira has denied any attempts to split the party.
Khaira had drawn flak from the AAP central leadership last month after reports emerged of him allegedly supporting a referendum for independence for Punjab. He was lambasted by Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia in a meeting and ignored by party chief Arvind Kejriwal following his alleged comments supporting the Punjab Referendum 2020. Khaira had allegedly said: "I support the Sikh referendum 2020 movement as Sikhs have the right to demand justice against atrocities suffered by them."
He, however, denied the allegations that he was a separatist and issued a “clarification”. “I dare Captain Amarinder Singh, Sukhbir Badal and Shwet Mailk to produce even a shred of evidence that I support 2020 referendum,” he had said in a statement.
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