Kejriwal hits out at Punjab ally for insulting new Leader of Opposition

New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday slammed his AAP's Punjab allies, the Bains brothers of Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), for making derogatory remarks against its new leader of opposition in the state assembly.

The tension between the two parties started after the Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia replaced Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira by Harpal Singh Cheema, a Dalit leader from Dirba constituency.

Expressing his disappointment at the decision, LIP legislator Simarjit Singh Bains referred Cheema as Aam Aadmi Party's "pappu" (fool).

To this, Kejriwal, AAP's national convenor, said that the LIP leader's "views on Dalits are disgusting".

"The Bains brothers have such disgusting views on Dalits. This is extremely embarrassing. They should apologize to the entire Dalit community. BJP, Congress, Akali Dal and Bains, all have the same disgusting views on the Dalit community. They have always been committing crimes against Dalits. That is why AAP has declared a Dalit as the next LoP," Kejriwal said in a tweet.

AAP in Punjab also condemned the "derogatory statement" by Bains by calling it an insult against the entire Dalit community.

"AAP Punjab condemns this derogatory statement by Simarjit Bains against MLA Harpal Singh Cheema. He has insulted the entire Dalit community with these remarks. These comments prove beyond doubt that they are anti-poor and anti-Dalit. People of Punjab will never forgive them!" the party said.

The AAP and LIP came together before the 2017 Punjab assembly polls and have been in a cold war following Khaira's sacking.

Earlier, Khaira had drawn flak from the AAP central leadership after he landed the party in a tight spot by backing the Sikh radicals. He supported Sikh Referendum 2020 as propounded by Sikh radicals for the creation of Khalistan.

He, however, denied the allegations that he was a separatist and issued a clarification after the AAP pulled him up.