New Delhi:
The AAP is “fully committed to the INDIA” opposition bloc, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Friday, even as leaders from his party and the Congress are locked in a bitter row in Punjab over the arrest of MLA Sukhpal Khaira on drugs charges.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
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Arvind Kejriwal – who earlier this month played down talk of INDIA members arguing over seat-sharing deals for forthcoming elections – sought once again to calm (distinctly) troubled waters. However, in a caveat unlikely to be missed, said his party also remains committed to winning the war on drugs.
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“I have come to know Punjab Police arrested some Congress leader yesterday… I do not have its details… I will get information from the police. We have waged a war against drugs… I would not like to comment on any individual case or person, but we are committed to ending drug addiction.”
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In his first comments on the row, Congress national boss Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday declared “if anyone does injustice to us, then we are not the ones who will tolerate it”. “I will take its details… but whatever may be the case, if someone does injustice, they don’t survive for long,” he said.
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Earlier today, sources told NDTV Congress leaders in Punjab had accused the AAP of “targeting” senior leaders over the past few months. The Congress’ state unit told the party’s high command high-ranking figures – including three ex-ministers – had been arrested before Mr Khaira.
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Sources said the Congress’ state leaders – firmly opposed to a seat-sharing deal with the AAP for next year – had complained about the arrests of ex-Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in February, ex-Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni in July, and ex-Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in August last year.
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Sources also said the Congress’ state leaders spoke about a “political vendetta” by the AAP that has seen it pursue figures like Manpreet Badal and Sundar Shyam Arora, who are now with BJP.
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Mr Khaira’s arrest was significant because he is one of those most vocal against any alliance with the AAP in the state. He is also Chairman (at national level) of the Congress’ Kisan Cell and is therefore both a party office-bearer and lawmaker.
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And it isn’t just the Congress’ state leaders refusing to play ball; Minister Anmol Gagan Mann has claimed “directions” from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to insist the AAP will contest all 13 seats.
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Mr Khaira’s arrest has spawned a rapidly escalating squabble between the AAP and the Congress, both of whom are part of the INDIA opposition bloc that plans to work together to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP in this year’s state elections and next year’s general election.
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As part of those plans, the two parties were expected to divide seats in three states – Punjab and Delhi (where the AAP is in power) and BJP-ruled Gujarat – but, at least in the former state, existing regional rivalries exacerbated by tension over Mr Khaira’s arrest, has left any deal on the brink.
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