Seven Haryana AAP leaders resign after Naresh Balyan becomes new state affairs in-charge

Chandigarh/New Delhi: In a jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party, seven members of the party's Haryana wing resigned in protest against Parliamentary Affairs Committee's (PAC) decision to make Delhi legislator Naresh Balyan as in-charge of state affairs.

Earlier, Yogendra Yadav was in-charge of the party's Haryana unit before being expelled. 

AAP national convener Naveen Jaihind tried to water down the resignation of members, calling them “monkeys” of Yogendra Yadav.

Jaihind further said that the seven members who resigned had not done anything for the party and had been expelled long back.

However, expelled AAP leader Anand Kumar described the development as: "This is beginning of end of AAP's Haryana story."

As per reports, the PAC had appointed Balyan as co-in-charge (independent charge) of Haryana unit during a meeting held on Sunday. However, a number of state leaders came to know about the development only on Tuesday and that too from the media.

Haryana AAP's secretary Paramjeet Singh and chief spokesperson Rajiv Godara had earlier asked the AAP to show evidence in support of the charges levelled against Yadav and three other leaders who were “expelled for gross indiscipline and anti-party activities”.

Singh and Godara, who are against Balyan's appointment, said that the AAP legislator had faced allegations of storing 497 cartons containing over 8,000 bottles of liquor to influence voters during the Delhi Assembly polls.

"There has been demand for a probe by the internal Lokpal of the party into the matter. So, it is contrary to AAP's principles to appoint him as the party's Haryana in-charge, till he gets a clean chit in the matter," a daily quoted Singh and Godara as telling Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday.