‘Kejriwal wants to finish Hindu leadership in Punjab’: Charanjit Singh Channi ahead of Ludhiana West bypoll

He also accused Kejriwal of trying to “finish entire Hindu leadership in Punjab”, and said the ruling AAP was also targeting its own Hindu leaders.

Citing instances of former minister Vijay Singla and Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, Channi accused the AAP of going after its own Hindu leaders.

“They arrested their own minister Singla for corruption but couldn’t produce a single proof against him. They are now after Kunwar Vijay Partap who speaks against his own party everyday. And the latest is (Jalandhar Central MLA) Raman Arora (arrested recently in an alleged corruption case),” said Channi.

The former chief minister further said that now Kejriwal was not even sparing AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora. “He (Kejriwal) has fielded Sanjeev Arora in the (Ludhiana West bypoll) to pave his own way into the Rajya Sabha,” said Channi.

“They are now planning to implicate (AAP state president) Aman Arora, according to my information. Where is Raghav Chadha? He too is maintaining a distance from his own party. The fact is Kejriwal wants to be the only Hindu leader in Punjab. It’s a big conspiracy,” said Channi.

The Jalandhar MP was addressing a rally before accompanying party candidate Bharat Bhushan Ashu to file nomination papers for the Ludhiana West bypoll, slated for June 19.

The bypoll was necessitated following Gogi’s death in January. Gogi, who was earlier with Congress, had joined AAP ahead of 2022 Assembly elections, and defeated Ashu. Now, Ashu, an ex-minister and two-time Ludhiana West MLA, is pitted against Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora in the bypoll. The urban constituency of Ludhiana West comprises sizeable Hindu voters, including businessmen and traders.

Channi said around a month before he died, Gogi had told his that he was not happy with the AAP.

“They (AAP) troubled him (Gogi) a lot. They harassed and did injustice with him. Gogi also said he had demolished the foundation stone of a project,” said Channi.

Referring to the corruption cases filed against Congress leaders after AAP came to power in Punjab in 2022, Channi said: “They (AAP) first got false cases registered against Ashu, tortured him to the hilt, kept him in jail but he came out clean and not a single charge could be proved against him. The High Court declared him clean. Then they got after (Sunder Sham) Arora, (Om Prakash) Soni and booked them.”

Appealing to the people of Ludhiana to vote for Ashu, Channi said that “people should not let Kejriwal’s nefarious designs succeed.

“You can have two benefits if you make Ashu win. Arora will remain your Rajya Sabha MP and Ashu will become your MLA,” said Channi.

Speaking to The Indian Express on the sidelines of the rally, Channi said that he stands by what he said during his address. Demanding an inquiry into Gogi’s death, Channi said: “Gogi was very upset with AAP and Kejriwal. He wanted to rejoin Congress but I told him that he should first fulfil his responsibility towards his people who have elected him as MLA. He was extremely upset with his own government.”

He also demanded an inquiry into the role of Kejriwal and others from AAP who were harassing Gogi.