Chandigarh: In an embarrassment for AAP, the main opposition in Punjab Assembly, two of its legislators kept sitting in the House when the rest of its MLAs staged a walkout over the issue of drug problem in the state, during the governor's address on Tuesday.
Led by Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira, 14 out of 16 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs present in the House, along with two legislators of the Lok Insaf Party, staged a walkout on the first day of the budget session of Punjab Assembly here. Khaira said a show cause notice will be issued to both the MLAs --Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa -- for not toeing the party line.
The incident took place at a time when AAP's Punjab unit was facing crisis following an apology tendered by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia for accusing him of being involved in drugs trade.
The party's Punjab president Bhagwant Mann and its co-president Aman Arora had recently resigned from their posts in protest against Kejriwal's apology. Addressing the state legislature, when Governor V P Singh Badnore pointing out the state government's achievement in handling drugs problem, Khaira raised from his seat and described the statement as a "bundle of lies" and demanding action against former minister Majithia.
As 14 AAP MLAs staged a walkout, Sandhwan and Sandoa kept sitting, defying the party line. Khaira later described the incident as "very painful" and told mediapersons that a show cause notice would be issued to the two MLAs for embarrassing the party in the Assembly.
"When it was decided in a meeting yesterday that all MLAs will stage a walkout during the governor's address, two legislators kept sitting. They are trying to give signal that they are against the party and are trying to toe the government line, which is completely unacceptable," the leader of opposition said.
He said a chief whip of the party will be announced soon and they will be called for explanation in case this kind of "disobedience" recur in the future. When contacted, Sandhwan, an MLA from Kotkapura, claimed that he was not in the meeting called on Monday for forming a strategy for the session. He also disagreed with the other MLAs for staging the walkout, saying the dignity of the House during the governor's address should be upheld.
"I did not find it right to stage walkout with other MLAs when days have been fixed for discussion on Governor's address," Sandhwan said. The other legislator, Sandoa, said that he did not know about the party's decisions as he had attended Monday's meeting only for a few minutes. The MLA from Kotkapura had recently accused Kahira of trying to break the party due to "vested interests."
Meanwhile, Khaira, while replying to a query on Kejriwal's apology to Majithia, told newspersons that the state unit of the AAP will decide on its next course of action after the budget session of the Assembly.
AAP MLAs from Punjab had discussed the option of splitting and forming a separate unit as they were upset with Kejriwal's apology. However, the decision was deferred as a consensus could not be built over this issue. On Sunday, 10 AAP MLAs from Punjab had even met Kejriwal in Delhi over the issue.
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