Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa for claiming that the AAP’s Punjab unit would split after a shocking defeat in Delhi. Bajwa had earlier suggested that more than 30 AAP MLAs were ready to switch sides and compared Mann’s situation to that of Maharashtra's Eknath Shinde.
"I would ask Pratap Singh Bajwa to count how many MLAs they have in Delhi. The law and order of Punjab is better than most states. We have to put in extra effort being a border state, and we are doing that,” said Mann in response to Bajwa’s remarks.
Mann met with AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday and discussed the government’s plans for Punjab. “Arvind Kejriwal thanked the MLAs for their work in the Delhi elections. Punjab government is working for the welfare of the people,” Mann said. He said his government would utilise the experience gained in Delhi to improve governance in Punjab.
“Even today, the people of Delhi say they have not seen such work in the last 75 years as the AAP has done in the last 10 years. We will use Delhi's experience in Punjab. We will work together. Our party is known for its work,” he added.
In a bold declaration, Mann said the meeting concluded with a vision for Punjab’s future. “In the coming two years, we will make Punjab a model that the whole nation will look up to. Punjab has always been at the forefront in all the fights.”
Bajwa’s comments stirred controversy after he claimed that internal friction existed between Punjab’s AAP leaders and their Delhi counterparts. Congress MP Gurjit Singh Aujla suggested that Kejriwal’s meeting with Punjab MLAs was a response to the party’s struggles in Delhi. “Both his models, Punjab and Delhi, have failed,” Aujla said.
Punjab AAP President Aman Arora rejected reports of split and said that all AAP MLAs attended the meeting with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal. He said that many state leaders worked very hard for elections in Delhi. "Arvind Kejriwal thanked us for that. Kejriwal calls us all from Punjab every 6-8 months and holds meeting. We have replicated the Delhi Model in Punjab. We discussed about how we can take our model to the grassroots."