Amid the continuing exodus from the crisis-ridden Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), key leaders and their supporters on Friday joined the Punjab Congress to a warm welcome from Captain Amarinder Singh here.Among the important AAP leaders to quit Arvind Kejriwal’s party and join the Congress fold were Virinder Khara, AAP incharge of Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib parliamentary constituencies, as well as Jatin Sood, Mandi Gobindgarh Zone Co-ordinator of AAP Intellectual Wing.Both cited serious corruption issues in AAP as the reason for their disillusionment with the party and extended their full support to the Congress under the leadership of Captain Amarinder.Captain Amarinder welcomed the new joinees to the party, stating that honest and genuine people in the AAP are now disillusioned with the party following the large- scale allegations of corruption and allocation of tickets to tainted people.Khara, who was running his business in USA before joining AAP three years back, said that he soon lost faith in the policies of Arvind Kejriwal who had been projecting himself as the messiah of the common people suffering from corruption but had exposed himself as a total liar and fraud.
"With an intent to serve Punjab, I surrendered my Green Card and re-entry permit of USA and joined AAP in 2013. But I am extremely shattered with all kinds of illegitimate practices on at the top level in AAP," said Khara.Charging AAP with selling tickets and fielding tainted people in the election, Khara expressed full confidence in leadership of Captain Amarinder. "My aim is to serve Punjab and I have realised that Congress is the best platform to do so," he asserted, adding that he had joined the party unconditionally.Sood, an industrialist, complained to Captain Amarinder of the complete industrial collapse in Punjab, saying 60% of the industries in Ludhiana had either shut down or fled. The situation, he said, required urgent intervention by Captain Amarinder, who assured Sood that he would take all steps for the state’s industrial revival after coming back to power.A large number of AAP volunteers and supporters also extended their support to Captain Amarinder as they vowed their allegiance to the Congress on the occasion.