Chandigarh: Khaira accuses senior AAP leader of 'conspiring' against him

CHANDIGARH: Cracks have emerged within the Punjab unit of the AAP with senior leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira accusing state co-president Balbir Singh of "hatching a conspiracy" to remove him from the post of Leader of Opposition in the state assembly. However, Singh denied the charges.
According to Khaira, Singh accused him of demanding money from party workers and volunteers in a bid to tarnish his image.Hurt by the "false accusations", Khaira approached Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia.
In a message posted on his Facebook page, Khaira said that a party worker informed him about the conspiracy.
"He (Singh) told 12-15 party workers from Shutrana segment who had come to meet him that I was accepting money from party workers," said Khaira, adding that he called up Singh and told him that if he had any grievances he should have talked to him instead of discussing it with party workers.
"He raised the matter in front of workers which was very painful," said Khaira.
But now he has denied having made any allegation, he added.
"I just wanted to inform you (party workers) about this incident. Conspiracies are being hatched against me. People from different quarters tell me that they want to remove me from the post of LOP. They are also misleading senior leadership in Delhi," he said.
"Such kind of allegations were neither made by Akalis nor Congress. But it is very sad that our own people are making such baseless allegations. I can fight against anybody in the interest of Punjab but it hurts deeply when your own people hatch a conspiracy against you," he said.
Khaira asked Singh to either apologise for his remarks or prove the allegations against him. "If I am guilty then I should be punished," he said.
"I thought it was my duty to inform everybody about what was happening in the party. You can never make the party strong this way," he said.
"The 2019 Lok Sabha polls are near and several candidates have also been selected. Do you think under these circumstances I can go and campaign for the party," he added.
Denying the allegations, Singh said the party stood together and blamed the Akalis for trying to create a rift.
"No allegation was levelled against Khaira. We respect him a lot. Party had made him the LOP and we are jointly fighting against drugs," he said.
"I have not said any such thing against him. The man (who told Khaira about the allegations) was not holding any position in the party and he could be an Akali worker," he added.
However, Singh advised Khaira to raise issues at party forums.