'Alliance In Parliament': Congress Slams Punjab Govt Over MLA's Arrest After AAP Says 'Committed To I.N.D.I.A'

Bhan further stated that the whole party stands with the MLA Sulkpal Singh Khaira. 

Calling Congress leader Sulkpal Singh Khaira's detention a "political arrest," Haryana Congress President Udia Bhan on Friday claimed that the rift between the Punjab units of the Congress and the AAP has nothing to do with the I.N.D.I.A alliance, adding that "it is a different matter," news agency ANI reported. Bhan further stated that the whole party stands with the MLA Sulkpal Singh Khaira. 

Speaking with media, Bhan said: "The whole party stands with him... The alliance is in the Parliament and there is a coordination committee for it. It is a different matter, this (Sulkpal Khaira's arrest) is a different matter." 

The statement comes after Aam Aadmi Party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that his party was committed to the I.N.D.I.A bloc, but that this would not prevent its government in Punjab from taking action against the drug gang. Referring to the arrest of Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Kejriwal said: "The Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab is committed to ending the drug menace. In the fight against it, nobody will be spared; however big or small they might be."

Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a Punjab Congress MLA, was placed under police custody by a Jalalabad court in Fazlika on Thursday. On Thursday, a team of Punjab Police officers searched Khaira's home in connection with a complaint filed under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Jalalabad in 2015. The MLA, who represents the Bholath constituency in the Punjab legislature, was nabbed in the morning from his Chandigarh house. In the afternoon, he was brought before the chief court magistrate in Jalalabad.

The Congress party claimed that the Punjab Police entered Chandigarh illegally in order to capture MLA Khaira. Partap Singh Bajwa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, met with Governor Banwarilal Purohit to discuss Khaira's detention and said that Punjab Police officials forced their way into Khaira's Chandigarh apartment to make the arrest.

"Punjab Police cannot enter Chandigarh as it is a Union Territory. I am sure they have not taken permission from the Chandigarh Police. They forcibly entered his house. We've requested the Governor that if it is proved that the Punjab police officials entered without informing the Chandigarh Police, a kidnapping case should be registered against them," Bajwa said.