BJP national spokesperson R.P. Singh has raised strong objections to what he views as the Aam Aadmi Party’s growing pattern of Khalistani appeasement politics in Punjab, alleging that the party is engaging with separatist sympathizers and controversial figures in pursuit of electoral gains. According to Singh, these actions mirror the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government’s handling of Punjab, a period marked by political missteps that eventually led to large-scale unrest and separatist violence.
Singh cited several recent developments and associations which, he argued, paint a worrying picture. He pointed out that “in its first Punjab election campaign, AAP allegedly received support from the Panun brothers, who initially claimed to have funded the party, though they later retracted their statement”, Singh suggested that this reversal came amid behind-the-scenes lobbying for the release of individuals associated with separatist causes such as Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.
In another instance, Singh reported that “the hunger strike by Iqbal Singh Bhatti who protested for nearly 51 days over the demand for the release of Sikh prisoners, Arvind Kejriwal reportedly took interest in the matter and engaged with Bhatti during the agitation”, a move that Singh interpreted as another example of the party aligning itself with fringe elements under the guise of human rights advocacy.
Singh also raised questions about the overseas activities of key AAP figures. He pointed that “Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan’s visited Canada two years ago, where he was seen with Hardip Singh, a figure associated with Khalistani circles”. Singh implied that such meetings raise questions about the ideological leanings of those occupying constitutional posts under AAP’s administration.
Adding to these concerns, Singh mentioned the foreign outreach of AAP leaders like Raghav Chadha. Singh said “While in London, Chadha reportedly met with Preet Kaur Gill, a UK Member of Parliament, who has in the past been linked with platforms sympathetic to the Khalistan cause”. Singh suggested that this international dimension to AAP’s politics including outreach to diaspora groups with controversial reputations, bears resemblance to the Congress-era policy of using religious and ethnic identity to consolidate vote banks, regardless of the long-term consequences.
He also drew attention to the resurfacing of narratives around Khalistan, particularly in the context of G.B.S. Sidhu’s book The Khalistan Conspiracy, which recounts how past Indian intelligence operations were influenced and sometimes undermined by political maneuvering during the height of militancy in Punjab. Singh framed AAP’s alleged current trajectory as eerily similar, warning that a repeat of such political experiments could threaten national security.
