Chandigarh, Punjab – Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Congress MLA from Bholath, today issued a scathing critique of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for its blatant promotion of political defections and its transformation into a hub for corporate businessmen, contradicting its self-proclaimed identity as the “party of the common man.”
Khaira highlighted AAP’s pattern of luring leaders from other parties to bolster its candidate roster for various elections. Notable defectors include Sushil Rinku and Raj Kumar Chhabewal from the Indian National Congress, Dimpy Dhillon from Gidderbaha, and Harmeet Sandhu from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). The latest addition, Ranjit Gill, who recently quit SAD, is reportedly set to join AAP to contest from Kharar after allegedly pressuring AAP MLA Anmol Gagan Mann to vacate her assembly seat.
“This is nothing short of an ‘Aya Ram Gaya Ram’ culture being shamelessly promoted by AAP,” Khaira remarked. “Their desperation to field candidates by poaching leaders from other parties exposes their lack of grassroots leadership and ideological bankruptcy. How can a party that thrives on defections claim to represent the common man?”
Khaira further criticized AAP for becoming a haven for corporate elites, citing prominent figures such as Ashok Mittal of Lovely Professional University, Kulwant Singh of Janta Land Promoters Limited (JLPL), Sanjiv Arora, a prominent realtor, Dr. Inderbir Nijjar, a hotelier, and now Ranjit Gill of the Gilco brand. “AAP has morphed into a party of corporate businessmen and wealthy tycoons,”
Khaira said. “Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal’s rhetoric of being the voice of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ is a hollow sham. Their actions reveal a party that prioritizes power and privilege over the principles it once claimed to uphold.”
Khaira called on the people of Punjab to see through AAP’s façade and hold the party accountable for betraying its founding ideals. “The AAP leadership must answer: how can they claim to represent the common man when their party is now a revolving door for defectors and a platform for corporate interests? Punjab deserves better than this hypocrisy,” he concluded.