Punjab: AAP suspends MLA Kunwar Vijay for 5 years over ‘anti-party activities’
AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said that the legislator should not have raised questions about the state government’s anti-drugs campaign which was receiving widespread appreciation
Days after he questioned Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s arrest in a disproportionate assets case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday suspended its Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh from the party for a period of five years for allegedly indulging in ‘anti-party activities.’
The political affairs committee of the AAP took disciplinary action against the cop-turned-politician and the first-time legislator from the party, for publicly opposing Majithia’s arrest by the vigilance bureau during a raid at the Akali leader’s residence in Amritsar, leaving the party leadership red-faced.
The MLA’s suspension is a clear signal from the AAP leadership that it will not tolerate any indiscipline concerning the party’s ongoing statewide campaign against the drug menace in the state.
Announcing the action against the legislator, AAP sources said that disciplinary action had been taken due to Kunwar Vijay’s ‘activities’ against the party. “There is no place in the party for anyone who tries to question the party’s ideology or disrupt the action being taken against drugs,” they said.
Later, AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said that the legislator should not have raised questions about the state government’s anti-drugs campaign which was receiving widespread appreciation.
{{/usCountry}}Later, AAP spokesperson Neel Garg said that the legislator should not have raised questions about the state government’s anti-drugs campaign which was receiving widespread appreciation.
{{/usCountry}}“His actions were completely wrong and highly condemnable. There could be some differences of opinion, but he (Kunwar Vijay) should have expressed his views on party platforms or directly to the chief minister. Instead, he chose to air his grievances publicly. Consistently making public statements is against political decorum and is unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“His actions were completely wrong and highly condemnable. There could be some differences of opinion, but he (Kunwar Vijay) should have expressed his views on party platforms or directly to the chief minister. Instead, he chose to air his grievances publicly. Consistently making public statements is against political decorum and is unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kunwar Vijay did not respond to calls, however, soon after his suspension was announced, he posted on Facebook, “Kabir, jis marne te jag dare, mere man anand. (”While the world fears death, my mind finds bliss).”
{{/usCountry}}Kunwar Vijay did not respond to calls, however, soon after his suspension was announced, he posted on Facebook, “Kabir, jis marne te jag dare, mere man anand. (”While the world fears death, my mind finds bliss).”
{{/usCountry}}The vigilance bureau had arrested Majithia on Wednesday (i.e. June 25) in a DA case linked to the alleged laundering of ‘drug money’. Kunwar Vijay, while sharing a video of the VB raid in which Majithia’s wife, Akali Dal MLA Ganieve Kaur, was seen protesting the ‘highhandedness’ of the bureau officials for barging into their house, had questioned the government action. The former 1998-batch IPS officer stated that when Majithia was in jail, the Bhagwant Mann-led government neither conducted any interrogation nor sought his remand and eventually allowed him bail. “The dignity of a family is shared by all — whether one is a politician, actor, rich or poor, friend or foe. Conducting a raid at someone’s house early in the morning is against ethical principles. Almost every government has misused the police and vigilance agencies for its own benefit, but the outcome has never been significant,” he posted on social media.
{{/usCountry}}The vigilance bureau had arrested Majithia on Wednesday (i.e. June 25) in a DA case linked to the alleged laundering of ‘drug money’. Kunwar Vijay, while sharing a video of the VB raid in which Majithia’s wife, Akali Dal MLA Ganieve Kaur, was seen protesting the ‘highhandedness’ of the bureau officials for barging into their house, had questioned the government action. The former 1998-batch IPS officer stated that when Majithia was in jail, the Bhagwant Mann-led government neither conducted any interrogation nor sought his remand and eventually allowed him bail. “The dignity of a family is shared by all — whether one is a politician, actor, rich or poor, friend or foe. Conducting a raid at someone’s house early in the morning is against ethical principles. Almost every government has misused the police and vigilance agencies for its own benefit, but the outcome has never been significant,” he posted on social media.
{{/usCountry}}He further stated that the Punjab and Haryana high court granted bail (to Majithia) on the grounds that if the police do not require someone for interrogation, keeping them in custody is against the law. “My point is that when he was in custody, the government enabled his bail, and now suddenly, notices are being issued to him, raids are being conducted at his house, and the dignity of his wife is being violated,” he added while pointing out that he had an ideological disagreement with Majithia but this was a matter of ethics and integrity.
The MLA’s outburst riled the party leadership, which acted against him for speaking against the government’s actions. Once considered close to AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, he had been taking potshots at Mann and the state government from time to time. An outspoken leader, the former cop was initially considered a strong contender for a berth in the state cabinet, but he was ignored and appeared to have been sidelined.
Before taking premature retirement to join the AAP in 2021, Kunwar Vijay headed the special investigation team (SIT) probing the post-sacrilege police firing incidents in Bargari that left two Sikh protesters dead in 2015. He has been critical of the Mann government’s handling of the matter, questioning the role and intent of the AAP government in failing to deliver justice in the Bargari sacrilege incident. Recently, he also questioned the arrest of AAP’s Jalandhar Central MLA, Raman Arora, in a corruption case alleging that the legislator was often seen hosting members of Mann’s family. Last month, following a hooch tragedy in Majitha that killed 27 people, he accused the state government of patronising a ‘mafia-police nexus’ that facilitated the liquor mafia and demanded action against senior police officers for failing in their duty.
Opposition question Kunwar Vijay’s suspension
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa stated that Kunwar Vijay’s suspension showed there was no place for dissent and honesty in the AAP.
“When he joined the AAP, Kejriwal made big promises of bringing the culprits of Bargari to justice and wiping out the drug mafia, but what is the reality today? Kunwar Vijay is suspended for speaking the truth,” he said. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that while it was indeed an internal matter of the AAP, that in no way meant that the government did not owe answers to questions he had raised. “Sacrilege and drugs remain unresolved. The party may have unsuccessfully tried to silence his voice, which it could not. It (AAP) definitely can’t avoid the questions that have started being raised. The AAP government’s ‘question hour’ has begun, and everyone knows it has no answers,” he wrote on social media.
Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin also criticised the AAP for taking action against the MLA who was questioning the government’s handling of sacrilege cases, the mafia-police nexus, and exposing links between a party leader and certain policemen. “While Kunwar Vijay has been suspended, another party MLA against whom the chief minister had levelled corruption allegations has now been given a clean chit by the state government,” he said, hitting out at the ruling party.
