NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab leader Bhagwant Mann resigned from the post of party president after convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's apology to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia. Mann said in a tweet, “I am resigning as a president of AAP Punjab... but my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an 'Aam Aadmi' of Punjab.” In a letter, Kejriwal retracted his allegations of the former Punjab minister being involved in a drug trade, and apologised to him.
On the apology, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said Kejriwal's apology has left many people “unhappy”. He said, “Many people are unhappy. I hope justice will be done as people like BS Majithia deserve to be in jail.” Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the allegations were “a false propaganda” and that Kejriwal's apology has exposed the “cheap politics”. She said, “This exposes cheap politics by AAP, they spread false propaganda. They build their entire election campaign on a lie, good that he has accepted his lies.”
Kejriwal, in his letter, wrote, “Because of my allegations made against you at various political rallies, public meetings, TV programs, print, electronic and social media, you filed a defamation case against us... I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations and apologise for the same. The damage caused to your esteem, the hurt caused to your family, friends, well-wishers, followers and the loss caused to you is regretted.”
Majitthia had filed a criminal defamation case against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, for falsely linking him to the drug trade and tarnishing his image. The case remains pending in an Amritar court. Despite the apology, Majithia will be investigated by the state government.
