Chandigarh: The AAP's central leadership has called the party's Punjab leaders, including MLAs, for a meeting with its national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi on Sunday, after a majority of its MLAs in the state on Friday discussed the option of splitting and forming a separate unit.
Kejriwal's apology to SAD leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia for accusing him of being involved in drugs trade pushed AAP's state unit into a crisis as its Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann and co-president Aman Arora resigned from their posts on Friday.
The state leadership had said the "meek surrender" was painful and very unfortunate.
In a further jolt, the Lok Insaf Party (LIP), AAP's ally in the state, announced to break its alliance with the party in the wake of Kejriwal's apology.
Senior leader and AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu on Saturday said, "We have got a message and call from Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia for a meeting tomorrow in Delhi. We were told that Arvind ji will also be in the meeting."
Sandhu, however, said that he would not attend the meeting.
"It was Friday decided by a majority of MLAs here that future meetings with the central leadership should only be held in Chandigarh," he said.
Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira also said that he would not go to Delhi to attend the meeting.
"I think a vast majority of MLAs will not attend this meeting," he said.
A two-round marathon meeting was held on Friday by the Punjab unit of the AAP in Chandigarh in which a resolution on splitting from the Delhi unit and forming a separate unit was discussed, though a final decision on this was deferred.
Meanwhile, three AAP legislators Amarjit Singh Sandoa from Ropar, Baljinder Kaur from Talwandi Sabo and Kultar Singh Sandhwan from Kotkapura today met Kejriwal in Delhi.
Sandoa said, "I met Kejriwal today. I asked him why he did this (tendering apology to Majithia). But I was not satisfied with his reply as he talked about several court cases that are going on. I said we are fighting a war against drugs."
AAP MLA Aman Arora said he would ask Kejriwal why he tendered an apology.
"One-on-one meeting should be held. It is our right to ask him (Kejriwal) why he tendered the apology," he said.
About whether he supported the move of breaking away and form separate unit, Arora said, "Until and unless, I hear from Kejriwal what made him to take such a decision, I do not want to say anything or make assumptions."
AAP state unit chief spokesperson and founder convenor of AAP Punjab Harjot Singh Bains accused Sukhpal Khaira of trying to split the party for his vested interest.
"Sukhpal Khaira is trying his best to break AAP being LOP. He should immidiately resign as LOP & MLA and face the bypoll. He wants to catpure the party built by hardwork of thousands of volunteers over last 6 years aftr coming frm congress 1 yr back. He always had dis agenda (sic)," Bains had tweeted on Friday.
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