Mann quits as AAP Punjab chief, his deputy Aman Arora follows suit

NEW DELHI: Two top Aam Aadmi Party leaders in Punjab resigned from their posts on Friday, a day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised to Akali Dal's Bikram Majithia for levelling "unfounded allegations" of the drug trade.

Bhagwat Mann was the Punjab Unit President of AAP. He put his papers on Friday morning. Then in the evening, it was AAP Punjab vice-president Aman Arora's turn.

"I am resigning as a president of AAP Punjab... but my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an "Aam Aadmi "of Punjab," Mann said in a tweet.

Reiterating the same view, AAP MLA Aman Arora cited the recent "painful turn of events" as the reason behind his decision.

The apology has provoked a sharp backlash from the Aam Aadmi Party. A top AAP leader in Punjab called the retraction by the Chief Minister a "meek surrender", and another blamed him for letting down the people.

"We're appalled and stunned by the apology of Arvind Kejriwal tendered," Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly said on Thursday, making it clear that the state unit wasn't in the loop.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that people like Majithia deserved to be in jail and added that Kejriwal's apology had left many people "unhappy".

Meanwhile, terming the allegations levelled by Kejriwal " false propaganda", Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that Kejriwal's apology letter had exposed the "cheap politics".

Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said the AAP convener did not have the guts to stand by his words. The BJP's Vijender Gupta said Kejriwal could have tendered his apology publicly instead of sending a private letter.

Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said Kejriwal's apology amounted to "murder of AAP in Punjab".