As the campaign for the Assembly elections in Punjab ended Friday and parties braced for the vote Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Centre has taken allegations of AAP taking sides with separatists seriously, and that he would personally get this inquired. Shah said this in response to a letter from Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi who had sought an inquiry into a letter purportedly written by the separatist Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) urging Punjabis to support AAP in the elections. Channi had also mentioned former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas’s allegation that Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal wanted to become Punjab CM by taking the support of separatists. In his letter, Shah said that any political outfit’s relations with such organisations and seeking their support during elections was a matter of grave concern. The agenda of such elements, he said, was no different than the agenda of anti-national elements. He assured Channi that nobody would be allowed to play with the integrity and harmony of the country. “The Government of India has taken it seriously and I will get it looked into,” the letter stated. Around midnight Thursday, Channi had demanded an inquiry into Vishwas’s allegation. “As CM of Punjab, I request Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji to order an impartial enquiry in the matter of @DrKumarVishwas Ji’s video. Politics aside, people of Punjab have paid a heavy price while fighting separatism. Hon’ble PM needs to address the worry of every Punjabi,” he said on Twitter. His tweet came a few hours after Punjab Additional Chief Electoral Officer issued a letter restraining the media from reproducing the content of Vishwas’s video. The direction, however, was overruled by CEO Dr S Karuna Raju who said there was no bar on it. On Friday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Kejriwal to clarify whether the allegation levelled against him by Vishwas was true. "Kejriwalji, give a straight answer - is Kumar Vishwas telling the truth? Yes or no," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said "waiting for a reply".
