Channi requests PM Modi to order probe into separatism allegations against Kejriwal

Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an independent probe into the allegations levelled by poet Kumar Vishwas against Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Vishwas, a founding member of AAP, had alleged that Kejriwal was ready to take support from separatist elements to become the chief minister of Punjab during the 2017 assembly elections.

Kejriwal had even said, Vishwas claimed, that he would either become the chief minister of Punjab or the first Prime Minister of an independent nation, an apparent reference to Khalistan.

“One day, he told me he would either become the chief minister (of Punjab)…or the first prime minister of an independent nation (Khalistan),” Vishwas told news agency ANI.

On Thursday, the additional chief electoral officer of Punjab issued a controversial letter restraining media houses, political parties and their representatives from publishing the “maliciously manufactured” Vishwas’s interview “with a view to defame” Kejriwal and “promote hatred, ill will, feeling of hostility against different religious groups and communities.” The letter, however, was soon withdrawn by the chief electoral officer.

Channi later requested PM Modi to order an impartial probe into the claims made by Kumar Vishwas, saying people of Punjab have paid a heavy price of separatism.

“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 wrote on Twitter while sharing the letter of Punjab’s chief electoral officer.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Raghav Chadha has hit out at rival political parties for their attempts to “defame” Kejriwal.

“All the parties came together to stop the AAP from forming the government in Punjab. As part of the conspiracy, Congress, BJP and Akali leaders are continuously giving false statements and spreading disinformation to defame Arvind Kejriwal,” Chadha said in a statement.