New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to sack its Punjab chief Suchcha Singh Chhotepur, after a video surfaced on Friday purportedly showing him accepting money for assigning constituencies to party candidates for the assembly elections to be held next year.
The video clip, which apparently shows a man leaving a cash packet with Chhotepur, was produced before the party’s central leadership. Following this, sources say, the party decided to remove Chhotepur from the post. The decision is likely to be announced soon.
As many as 21 AAP leaders from Punjab, including members of Parliament Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh, have written a letter to party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to immediately sack Chhotepur.
Kejriwal has called a meeting of top party leaders in Delhi on Saturday to discuss Chhotepur’s fate. Party’s legal cell in-charge and candidate from Mohali Himmat Singh Shergill is likely to replace him.
Chhotepur, who has been part of both Akali Dal and Congress in Punjab before he teamed up with Kejriwal, has denied the allegations demanding to be shown the sting.
“This is a conspiracy hatched against me by some of my own partymen. I will disclose everything soon. What wrong have I done? Why is the video clip not being made public? All this started after I expressed my displeasure over the party’s candidates’ list for the upcoming Punjab polls,” Chhotepur told Gulf News.
He said he would expose the dirty tactics of AAP soon.
“I have been working day and night to strengthen this party but some of my party colleagues are trying to tarnish my image by levelling false and baseless allegations. Party workers, volunteers and people who support us have been giving funds for running party activities. Without collecting donations, how are we supposed to run our party activities. I did nothing wrong. I shall explain and expose everything,” he added.
While AAP is so far silent on Chhotepur, Congress has come out in his support.
“The sting operation has clearly been conceived, planned and executed as part of an internal coup engineered by Aam Admi Party leaders from outside who want to control Punjab through remote by using their local stooges and inconsequential wannabe leaders,” Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh told reporters in Chandigarh.
Congress accused Kejriwal of trying to get rid of Chhotepur.
“I may have political differences with Chhotepur, but I also acknowledge and admire his honesty and integrity and will not keep quiet when he is being made a victim of an internal intrigue. Kejriwal is trying to weed out all the leaders whom he thinks will challenge his authority,” Singh added.
Rebel AAP leader Dharamvira Gandhi on Friday alleged that the sting operation was done “as part of a design” to defame Chhotepur.
“This is a party of a dictator — of a single person known as Kejriwal, and it is clear that the sting operation was done intentionally, which is a design to defame him before expelling him from the party. I strongly deplore and protest against it. They are getting stings conducted against their own leaders in Punjab, earlier it had happened in Delhi as well; I have never seen such distrust in any party,” Gandhi told reporters.
