AAP will collapse like a wall of sand, more leaders will quit: Pargat Singh

Chandigarh. The Punjab Congress on Monday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was falling apart and more of its leaders would soon cross over to the BJP. But it made clear that its own doors stay shut to them.

“AAP is a sinking ship. Only three leaders have left so far, and many more will follow in the coming days,” Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Pargat Singh told reporters at Congress Bhawan. The Congress, he said, did not need such “silent” leaders or political “material” whose record and conduct were in doubt.

The Jalandhar Cantonment MLA, who took charge of the state unit last month, shared the stage with Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa.

Pargat Singh said AAP stood like a wall of sand. Pull out a few bricks, he said, and the rest would come down on its own.

He alleged that leaders under a cloud over mining and other dealings were now finding a home in the BJP. People who kept quiet on Punjab’s issues for almost five years in government, he said, could not wash away their record by changing parties.

Questions for Kunwar Vijay Pratap

Pargat Singh turned to Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a former IG of Punjab Police. AAP, he said, had shown him off as its poster boy but never let him speak his mind or do his work in nearly five years.

He asked Kunwar Vijay Pratap to tell Punjab what probe and action had followed in the Maur bomb blast case. He also asked what the MLA would do if the BJP joined hands with the Akali Dal in future.

‘₹50,000 crore looted’

The two Congress leaders alleged that AAP’s Delhi leaders, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, used their grip on the Punjab government to loot about ₹50,000 crore from the state.

Bajwa said the Land Pooling Scheme, which covered 65,000 acres, could have led to a loot of nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore. Its withdrawal, he said, saved Punjab from that loss.

Pargat Singh said AAP brought its Delhi model to Punjab, ran the state from Delhi and set aside the pride and leadership of Punjabis. “Kejriwal is now leaving Punjab, but Bhagwant Mann will have to answer for what happened,” he said.

He also hit out at those who call themselves followers of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. What did they do in power to live up to his ideals or protect Punjab, he asked.

Warning on ED, CBI

The Congress leaders said they feared the BJP may turn the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on opposition leaders to scare them as the 2027 Assembly elections come closer.

Bajwa asked party workers not to bow to any pressure and to stand up to what he called the misuse of central agencies.

Bodies in mortuary

Pargat Singh also flagged the case of Parminder Singh Jhota, Daljit Singh and Ajay Kumar. Their bodies are lying in a mortuary, he said, and their families are allegedly being stopped from holding the last rites.

He accused Punjab Police of putting heavy pressure on the grieving families and called it a deeply troubling state of affairs.