Cong leader Khaira may turn Aam Aadmi
Monday, 23/12/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20131223/punjab.htm#8
Sukhpal Singh KhairaJalandhar : The firebrand Congress leader and former MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, may join the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) soon. Highly placed sources in AAP said talks in this regard were underway.
When contacted, Khaira, official spokesperson of the Punjab Congress Congress Committee (PPCC) said: “ The Congress has nominated me as its candidate from the Bholath assembly segment four times in a row and I’m holding a prestigious post in the party even now. Why then should I quit the Congress?”
Punjab convener of AAP Harjot Singh Bains told The Tribune that Khaira had not contacted any of the seven members on its state executive. However, sources close to Khaira insisted that the latter was in talks with AAP. “He is disillusioned with the state party leadership and its ambivalent stand on political and social issues" the sources said.
According to the AAP constitution, anybody who has already been in electoral politics and wants to join the party needs to contact the AAP’s executive body for a final decision.
Meanwhile, AAP has stepped up efforts to spread wings in Punjab with Bains claiming that the response was overwhelming with the party enrolling “300 members every hour.”
The party’s Jalandhar district convener, Joginder Singh Multani, and executive member Kamaldeep Singh have already started agitation against the “irrational” taxes imposed by the SAD-BJP Government. The party is likely to start similar protests in other areas soon.
Talking to The Tribune, AAP national working committee member Himanshu Pathak said: “We are targeting social media users. Over 30 lakh voters (35 per cent) in the state are on the social media. While 28.5 lakh are on Facebook, about two lakh use Twitter. We want to make them aware of social issues confronting Punjab, including unemployment and drug addiction.
