AAP vs Congress In Punjab Over '30 MLAs In Touch With Us' Claim

AAP MP from Punjab Malvinder Singh Kang hit out at Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday for claiming that 30 MLAs of the state's ruling party were in touch with him, saying even his party's legislators were not with him.

Following the Aam Aadmi Party's loss in the Delhi Assembly polls, Bajwa had claimed that an internal power struggle would ensue between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

The Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly had also claimed that more than 30 AAP MLAs were in touch with the Congress and ready to switch sides.

Hitting back, Kang, the MP from Anandpur Sahib and AAP's chief spokesperson in Punjab, said, "Are all Congress MLAs in touch with you? If they are, where is Sandeep Jakhar (suspended Abohar MLA)? Why did Raj Kumar Chabbewal leave the party?" Chabbewal, who is now an AAP MP, had switched over from the Congress last year.

Kang said Bajwa's own brother, Fatehjang Bajwa, joined the BJP and he could not stop him. "Meanwhile, Congress leaders, MLAs and former legislators are continuously leaving the party. Yet Bajwa seems worried about AAP MLAs," he said in a statement.

Bajwa is known for making "baseless statements" and his claims never turn out to be true, Kang alleged, adding the Congress was in such a situation that despite winning zero seats in Delhi, their leaders were celebrating over the BJP's victory.

Asked about Kejriwal's meeting with Mann and party MLAs in Delhi on Tuesday, Kang said it is an organizational meeting. "Arvind Kejriwal is the national convenor of our party. Such meetings are a regular part of any party's internal processes," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)