The controversy over a resolution passed by the Delhi assembly with regard to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 purportedly demanding revocation of the Bharat Ratna awarded to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi took a curious turn on Saturday, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia clarifying that MLA Alka Lamba has not been asked to resign following her decision to not support the motion.
Lamba had claimed that following her decision to boycott the resolution, that was passed by the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, she had been asked to resign as an MLA as also from the party. Lamba had said she walked out of the assembly as a resolution was brought that the Bharat Ratna awarded to former PM Gandhi be withdrawn. She said she was asked to support the resolution in her speech, which was not acceptable to her, and hence she walked out. She added that she was ready for any punishment that would be given to her.
Sisodia, however, told reporters when asked about Lamba that no resignation has been sought from anyone. He termed the reports of resignation “rumours”. “No resignation has happened. No resignation has been sought. No one is giving any resignation,” he said.
The AAP was on Saturday at pains to deny that any resolution seeking revocation of Bharat Ratna from Rajiv Gandhi was passed by the assembly as politics over the development gathered steam with the rival Congress condemning the alleged inclusion of Gandhi in the Vidhan Sabha motion and demanding that a special session of the house be called to expunge the purported portion that made a reference to the former prime minister.
The party as well as the speaker's office have clarified that the resolution that was passed did not make any mention of Gandhi, and the controversial comment about him was an amendment proposed by a few MLAs, which did not make it to the final resolution as it was not put to vote in the house, and hence, not adopted by it.
“(MLA) Somnath Bharti, in his own copy of the resolution, with a pen, wrote a sentence pertaining to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and he gave it to Jarnail Singh. When Jarnail Singh read out this resolution, he also read out the amendment which Somnath Bhartiji had proposed,” said AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.
The house had discussed the issue of providing justice to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots over two days as part of a short duration discussion. While Bharadwaj moved the resolution, Jarnail Singh spoke on it last.
The development might have an impact on the efforts to forge an AAP-Congress alliance in Delhi. The AAP's reaction after the Delhi High Court verdict convicting senior Congress leader Sajjan Kumar and sentencing him to life imprisonment over his role in the anti-Sikh riots did contain condemnation of the national party, but the party left the door ajar for an alliance with the Congress by calling for action against Kumar and other party leaders accused of instigating the riots in 1984.
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The state leadership of the Congress has been against an alliance with the AAP even as the party high command is willing to consider the possibility. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken has argued against allying with the AAP, saying that the newbie party has been discredited, and tying up with it would hamper the prospects of the Congress. He has also pointed out that the vote percentage of the Congress is on the upswing. The latest developments are expected to strengthen the camp that is against an alliance with the AAP.
There is also speculation that Lamba might be on her way back to the Congress. AAP sources said that her relations with the party leadership were not good of late, and her continuation in the party was becoming increasingly difficult. The anti-Sikh riot resolution might have acted as a tipping point for both her and the AAP to go in for the extreme step of severing ties.
Kejriwal's party also faces a dilemma in terms of balancing its requirement to woo the Sikh voters, who dominate several constituencies in the capital, and keep the possibility of an alliance with the Congress open. While the vote share of the BJP has remained constant over the last few years, the Congress and the AAP have the same vote bank and their shares from the common slice of pie have oscillated.
