Arvind Kejriwal’s tendering of apology to Shirmani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia resulted in setting a negative mood for the Aam Aadmi Party leader from Punjab, Bhagwant Mann. He resigned as the party chief from the state of Punjab.

“I am resigning as a president of AAP Punjab… but my fight against drug mafia and all kind of corruption in Punjab will continue as an “Aam Aadmi “of Punjab,” he said on his twitter handle.

Just a day ago, AAP chief Kejriwal retracted his allegation in a letter and tendered his apology to him. The allegation was that the former Punjab minister Majithia was related in drug trade.

Sanjay Singh, who is MP of AAP said that people like Majithia should be sent to jail and commented over Kejriwal’s apology saying that he has left many people “unhappy”.

“Many people are unhappy (with Arvind Kejriwal’s apology). I hope justice will be done as people like BS Majithia deserve to be in jail,” AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.

In response to Kejiriwal’s apology letter, Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that this has exposed the party’s ‘cheap politics’.

“This exposes cheap politics by AAP, they spread false propaganda. They build their entire election campaign (in Punjab) on a lie, good that he has accepted his lies,” Badal asserted.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu commented over Kejriwal’s apology as “murder of AAP in Punjab”.

“It is a let down to the people of Punjab. I feel Kejriwal has murdered AAP in Punjab. It is as if their existence has been wiped off. With what face will they speak against drugs in Punjab now? He said in a statement.

In the letter, which was submitted to the Amritsar court, Kejriwal wrote, “In the recent past I made certain statements and allegations against you regarding your alleged involvement in drug trade. These statements became a political issue. Now I have learnt that allegations are unfounded. Hence there should be no politics on such issues.”

The letter also added, “Because of my allegations made against you at various political rallies, public meetings, TV programs, print, electronic and social media, you filed a defamation case against us…I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations and apologise for the same. The damage caused to your esteem, the hurt caused to your family, friends, well-wishers, followers and the loss caused to you is regretted.”

The former Punjab minister, Majithia had previously filed a criminal defamation case on May 20, 2016, against AAP Chief Kejriwal and AAP leaders Sanjay Singh (who is now a Rajya Sabha MP) and Ashish Khetan over linking him to the drug trade on baseless grounds and tarnishing his overall image. The case is still pending in an Amritsar court.

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