Bhagwant Mann resigns after Kejriwal apologises to Majithia

NEW DELHI: A day after Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal apologised to former Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, party’s Punjab chief Bhagwant Mann has resigned from his post. Confirming his resignation, he tweeted that he will continue to fight against the drug mafia and corruption in Punjab. “I m resigning as a president of AAP Punjab …but my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an ‘Aam Aadmi’ of Punjab,” he wrote.
The Delhi Chief Minister hadsettled the defamation case filed against him by the former Punjab revenue minister and said that he has learnt that the drug trade allegations were unfounded. “In the recent past, I made certain statements and allegations against you regarding your alleged involvement in drug trade. These statements became a political issue. Now, I’ve learnt that allegations are unfounded,” the Delhi CM said in a statement.
“I hereby withdrew all my statements and allegations made against you and apologise for the same,” he added and reportedly furnished a copy of the apology to the court.
His “meek surrender” had drawn flak from AAP’s Punjab unit leaders who termed Kejriwal’s step a “letdown”. Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly and senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said he was appalled by the apology. “We’re appalled n stunned by the apology of @ArvindKejriwal tendered today, we don’t hesitate to admit that we haven’t been consulted on this meek surrender by a leader of his stature (sic),” Khaira tweeted.
Another senior AAP leader Kanwar Sandhu also called it a let down. “Arvind Kejriwal’ apology to Bikram Majithia in the defamation case on drugs is a let down to the people, especially the youth of Punjab. We in Punjab have not been taken into the loop. Our fight for Punjab continues,” Sandhu tweeted.
However, party leaders in Delhi had said the move was to shed court cases, in which the party convenor finds himself mired. They had also hinted that a similar course may be adopted in the defamation case filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. “Most of these cases require personal appearance in court. These cases have been foisted by our political rivals to de-motivate us and keep our leadership busy in these legal matters. The decision to amicably sort out all such legal cases is a strategy as devised by the legal team of the party,” spokesperson of AAP’s Delhi unit Saurabh Bharadwaj said.