Showdown between BJP groups

Gurdaspur, April 21

The BJP turned out to be a divided house as it welcomed new state party president Shwait Malik during his visit to the city. Supporters of former MP Vinod Khanna and Swaran Salaria resorted to high-decibel sloganeering to run down each other.

Fissures appeared the moment it surfaced that industrialist Swaran Salaria would be using the premises of Salaria Jansewa Foundation to hold the ceremony. Senior leaders, including one sitting and three former MLAs, refused to be a part of the proceedings till the venue was changed.

After state vice-president Rakesh Rathour’s intervention, it was decided that Malik would be felicitated at an adjoining venue and only the rally would be held on the foundation’s premises.

Later, when Khanna’s widow Kavita Khanna addressed the gathering, Salaria’s supporters resorted to sloganeering. — TNS