AAP suspends Punjab MPs Dharamvira Gandhi, Harinder Khalsa

New Delhi/Chandigarh, Aug 29: The AAP on Saturday suspended parliamentarians Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa from primary membership of the party and initiated disciplinary proceedings against them.

Both are Lok Sabha members from Punjab. Gandhi, a cardiologist and social worker, represents Patiala constituency, while Khalsa, a former diplomat, represents Fatehgarh Sahib constituency.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) suspended the MPs and referred disciplinary proceedings against them to the National Disciplinary Action Committee, said party spokesperson Deepak Bajpai.

AAP sources in Punjab said Gandhi and Khalsa were suspended after they attended a rally organised by suspended party leader from Punjab, Daljit Singh. Both leaders attended the parallel rally organised on Saturday at Baba Bakala near Amritsar.

“I cannot tolerate dictatorship (in the party). He wants to run the Punjab unit through remote control,” Gandhi told the media, referring to the style of functioning of AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Gandhi said the AAP was joining hands in Bihar with forces aligned with ‘tainted’ leaders like Lalu Prasad and parties like the Congress.

The AAP has four members in the Lok Sabha — all from Punjab. The other two are comedian-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann (Sangrur) and former educationist Sadhu Singh (Faridkot). With the suspension of the two MPs, infighting in the Punjab unit of AAP is likely to intensify.

Punjab is scheduled to hold assembly elections in early 2017 and the AAP was preparing itself to give a good fight to the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine and the opposition Congress.