AAP state panel in revival mode, gets gen secy
Wednesday, 28/09/2016
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has begun revival of its defunct Punjab state committee with the appointment of a general secretary on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Delhi MLA and co-incharge of AAP’s affairs in Punjab Jarnail Singh said Gulshan Chhabra will be the general secretary of the party’s state committee. He said the party would soon announce names of party vice-presidents and other secretaries. “The president of the state committee is Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi by virtue of his position as the Punjab convener,” he said.
Chhabra is a businessman from Mandi Gobindgarh and has been working for AAP since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The AAP’s state committee had been rendered defunct with only Sucha Singh Chhotepur holding the post of the state convener. The move to revive the committee barely four months before the assembly polls is seen as the party’s bid to strengthen the state leadership in wake of the party facing the ‘outsider versus Punjabi’ criticism.
The move will also help the party absorb rebellion emerging out of announcement of tickets by giving senior positions to contenders who are denied tickets.
Meanwhile, Jarnail attacked the Badal government for looting the state exchequer. “Badals have already smelled their defeat in the upcoming assembly polls, thus they have indulged in the loot of state exchequer by keeping the interests of state-owned transport corporation at stake and giving more time and route to the bus company owned by them.
Member of the Punjab Dialogue Chander Suta Dogra alleged that Akali leaders, especially who directly belong to Badal family were deliberately allowing massive power theft in their constituencies.
“As a result, industrialists and other consumers of electricity were forced to pay high rate of power to compensate the theft of power by Akalis,” she further said.
Jagtar Singh Sanghera, in charge of the NRI (no-resident Indian) wing, condemned the decision of government to stop allowances of government pensioners who settled abroad after their retirement. “The decision was an attempt to take revenge from the NRIs, as majority of them extended their support to AAP,” he said.
