Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar has demanded the resignation of Sukhpal Singh Khaira as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the wake of the serious allegations of corruption levied by his own party colleagues.In a statement issued here, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief said on Saturday that given the gravity of the charges against Khaira, he should quit on moral grounds, failing which he should be sacked by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership.The Congress president cited the reported allegations made by Punjab AAP co-president Balbir Singh, purportedly to some AAP workers, that Khaira takes cash from party workers. Describing the charges as shocking, he said the AAP leader had lost all moral right to continue in the responsible position of LoP.Jakhar also urged the Vidhan Sabha Speaker to take cognizance of the charges against the LoP and initiate necessary action under the rules of the Assembly.The allegations had totally exposed Khaira, already mired in controversy over a drugs case, as completely lacking in political propriety and decorum, said the PPCC chief, demanding his immediate removal from the post.
Considering the high moral ground that AAP had been trying to take on the issues of drugs and corruption, before and after the 2017 Assembly elections, allowing Khaira to continue as Leader of Opposition, and in fact even as member of the party would not be condoned by the people of Punjab, the Congress president said.The bribery allegations, which had plunged the beleaguered Punjab unit AAP into a fresh crisis, showed that the party had lost its narrative completely as a serious political entity in the state, said the PPCC chief, demanding that AAP’s national convenor Arvind Kejriwal should immediately wind up the Punjab organizational set-up.Kejriwal had already set a precedent with respect to tainted party leaders by removing Sucha Singh Chhotepur as AAP state convenor following a cash-packet sting operation and should take the same stand over Khaira, said Jakhar.AAP had completely failed to deliver in its role as the main opposition party in the state, with the charges against Khaira serving as the last straw, Jakhar said, calling for the party’s ouster from Punjab.