Amritsar, May 10: After taking over the reins of AAP as state convener, Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann expelled Upkar Singh Sandhu from the party for his alleged anti-party activities. Sandhu (63), who had contested the Amritsar Lok Sabha bypoll on AAP ticket, had opposed Mann’s elevation, saying that the party should now be rechristened as ‘PPP’ (peg pyala party).
On the sidelines of his visit to the family of slain Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh at Vein Poin village in Tarn Taran, Mann said: “The volunteers are the backbone of the party, but the anti-party activities will not be tolerated.”
Upkar Singh Sandhu was earlier with the Akali Dal and had a brief three-month stint with the Congress as well. Asked about his expulsion, Sandhu said he was prepared for it. “I have no grudge. I was impressed with the AAP ideology, but in present times, it has already deviated from it. It is better that I am now not part of it,” he said.
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He alleged that he was witness to Mann’s habitual drinking during a rally in Attari when he could not even stand properly on the dais.“The party had to face embarrassing situation many times due to Mann’s drinking habit, but it was ignored. It is a suicidal attempt to appoint him as state convener. Party’s chief whip Sukhpal Khaira and former convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich too have opposed the move,” he said.
On his next course, Sandhu said, “I am a born Akali. The ideology of the Akali Dal was pro-Punjab, but the Badals ruined it. If the existing leadership changes at any stage, I will surely rejoin the Akali Dal.”
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
