Punjab Assembly Speaker accepts Sukhpal Khaira's resignation as MLA

Ruchika M. Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 19

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana K P Singh had finally accepted the resignation of Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, almost three years after he first tendered his resignation in January 2019.

With his resignation, the Bholath Vidhan Sabha seat has fallen vacant. But there will be no byelection, as the elections to Punjab Vidhan Sabha are scheduled in another three months. Officials say that Khaira had again submitted his resignation in June, but was told to submit the same in the prescribed format, which he did today.

Interestingly, no decision has yet been taken on the resignation of the three other AAP MLAs, who had resigned and joined the Congress earlier this year. These are Nazar Singh, Pirmal Singh and Jagdev Singh Kamalu.

Khaira had switched sides and joined AAP before the 2017 elections and won as an MLA. He was also appointed as the Leader of Opposition by his party. But his differences with the party supremo Arvind Kejriwal widened within a few months, and he rebelled within the party, taking along nearly half a dozen MLAs. He was removed as Leader of Opposition, but he continued to be an MlA and worked as leader of the rebel group.

Khaira had also floated his own political party in January 2019, and contested the Lok Sabha election from Bathinda. He, however, was defeated and even lost his security deposit. Earlier this year, he had joined the Congress.