AAP MLA Alka Lamba said on Friday night she would tender her resignation as "demanded" by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for not supporting a resolution in the assembly on revoking the Bharat Ratna awarded to late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi over his alleged failure to stop the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
The Delhi Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which it was demanded that the Bharat Ratna awarded to Rajiv Gandhi be withdrawn, but the AAP swiftly distanced itself from the reference to the Congress leader. Media reports claimed AAP MLA Somnath Bharti was instrumental in inserting the demand to revoke the Bharat Ratna awarded to Gandhi.
The matter became a major crisis with AAP MLA Alka Lamba alleging she was "put under pressure" to support the resolution, which she resisted and boycotted. Lamba said she was ready to face "any consequences" and claimed she spoke to AAP supremo Kejriwal who, she said, asked her to resign as MLA. "I am ready to do so," she said.
The Chandni Chowk MLA said she was not happy with the demand to take back the Bharat Ratna from Gandhi and staged a walkout in protest. Interestingly, the AAP later distanced itself from the resolution.
"After I staged a walkout, I got a message from the chief minister to tender my resignation," she told PTI.
When asked whether she will quit, Lamba added, "I have won on a [AAP] party ticket. I will tender my resignation as demanded by the party," Lamba, a former Youth Congress leader, said.
In a tweet, Lamba said, "I was asked to support the resolution demanding taking back the Bharat Ratna awarded to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Since I didn't agree to this, I staged a walkout. I am ready to accept whatever punishment [is] given to me." Lamba was one of the 20 MLAs disqualified by the Election Commission for holding an office of profit; the disqualification was quashed by the Delhi High Court earlier this year.
Lamba is the latest AAP leader to signal disagreement with the party. In August, two journalist-turned-political activists, Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan, said they were leaving the AAP. Though they did not specify reasons for their actions, differences with Kejriwal were thought to be a key issue.
(With PTI inputs)
