Sucha Singh’s cash-on-desk sting creates furore in Punjab AAP

The writing is on the wall for Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chottepur that his days are numbered as armed with evidence the party is planning to remove him as party’s convener. The legal cell incharge of AAP, Himmat Singh Shergill, who is also its candidate from Mohali, is being dubbed as the next state convener by the highly placed sources.  

The signal from Delhi for Chhotepur is clear that the party will take a strong action against him after a 15-minute long video has surfaced allegedly showing him accepting money from a party volunteer.  

A series of complaints were being sent to party leadership in Delhi by AAP’s Punjab unit regarding Chottepur’s conduct from last few months.  

But it was only after a clip surfaced and was reported by a Punjabi radio in North America that forced AAP to take a firm action against Chhotepur.

“We received a letter written by our Punjab unit leaders wherein they asked national convener Arvind Kejriwal to take immediate action against Chhotepur. There is a clear understanding with the party that corruption would not be tolerated,” said AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai.

Refuting all allegations leveled against him, Chhotepur said that the money he accepted was for ‘party fund’. He even dared AAP leadership to make the video clip public to prove that he was indulging in corruption. 

“I have already said that it (sting) is a move to embarrass me. I don’t have anything more to say on the matter. I will speak up when the time is right,” Chhotepur added. He further added that few party members’ want to spoil his name.

Earlier, Chhotepur has expressed objections over the two lists of candidates announced by the AAP.

The party insider claimed that AAP chief Kejriwal was shown the clip when he returned from Dharamsala. The issue was discussed by AAP’s Political Affairs Committee on August 13, which decided to give Chhotepur a chance to defend himself.

Meanwhile, reacting on the development Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh has given clean chit to AAP’s Punjab convener by saying that outsiders from UP engineered coup against Punjabi Chhotepur.

Calling Chhotepur son of the soil, who nourished and nurtured AAP’s Punjab unit, Captain Amarinder said, “The sting operation has clearly been conceived, planned and executed as part of an internal coup engineered by the AAP leaders from outside who want to control Punjab through remote by using their local stooges and inconsequential wannabe leaders.”

While strongly defending Chhotepur, the former chief minister of Punjab added that he knew Chhotepur from last 35 years. “I may have strong political differences with Chhotepur, but I also acknowledge and admire his qualities of honesty, integrity and will not like to keep quiet when he is being made a victim of an internal coup and intrigue. It is disgustingly unfair that when you don’t like a man, you start tarnishing and targeting his unblemished image”.