AAP’s split exposes politics of power and plunder: Bajwa

Chandigarh: Pratap Singh Bajwa, leader of the opposition in the Punjab assembly, on Friday said the split within the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha had laid bare the party's true character.

He said the crisis was not ideological but rooted in a struggle for control over Punjab's resources and public money.



The Congress leader said the developments confirmed long-standing concerns that the AAP's politics in Punjab had been driven less by governance and more by internal competition for access to the state exchequer. "What is unfolding today is not a clash of principles but a conflict over power, patronage and money," he said.

Calling out the contradictions within the AAP, Bajwa said it was ironic that Raghav Chadha had claimed he could not remain a partner in wrongdoing within the party, while chief minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that Chadha and others left because they were not allowed to indulge in corruption.

"When both sides are accusing each other of corruption, the truth becomes self-evident. This was never about ideology. It has always been about money and the systematic loot of Punjab's exchequer," said the senior leader.

He further alleged that the BJP played a role in the "trading of the people's mandate". Bajwa said central investigative agencies were used to unearth details of alleged ill-gotten wealth, and instead of ensuring justice prevailed, such information appeared to have been leveraged to pressure and politically co-opt individuals into the BJP's fold.

Punjab's former deputy chief minister and MP from Gurdaspur, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, said the entire development clearly shows that both parties are prioritising their political interests over public concerns.

Randhawa said discussions about Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Vikram Sahni, Rajendra Gupta and Swati Maliwal joining the BJP together indicate that political parties are now giving more importance to power and personal interests than to public welfare.

He said while the BJP at the Centre is managing political equations through the policy of ‘Sam, Daam, Dand, Bhed' (persuasion, inducement, punishment, division), the AAP in Punjab is also following the same path.
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