On February 16, during an interview with news agency ANI, former Aam Aadmi Party leader and poet Dr Kumar Vishwas called out Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal for extending support to separatists. He said that at one point, Kejriwal claimed he would either become Chief Minister of Punjab or will become first Prime Minister of an independent nation (Khalistan).
Vishwas was talking about Kejriwal’s campaigns in the Punjab assembly elections. He said Kejriwal should understand Punjab is not just a state but an emotion. He said, “Amidst this, a person like him, whom I suggested not take support from the separatists and fringe elements who were linked to the Khalistani movement in the last elections, and he told me not to worry. When I asked him how he would become CM, he told me the formula as well. He is on the same path. Even if he is not on the same path, he will use a puppet to control the government.”
Speaking about the deep-rooted separatism in Kejriwal’s mind, he added, “He even made dangerous statements in front of me that everyone knows in Punjab. One day when I asked him about referendum 2020 that was being funded by ISI and other elements across the world, he told me not to worry and said, “Either I will become Chief Minister of the state or I will become first Prime Minister of an independent nation (Khalistan).”
Gul Panag had made similar allegations
In 2018, similar allegations were made by actress Gul Panag 2018. Referring to Khalistani supporters in Punjab as K Gang, she had said, “Poorly calculated flirtation that was. One I warned against. Repeatedly. It’s because they didn’t ‘get’ or ‘understand’ Punjab. I thought the K gang had electoral weightage. All of us from Punjab knew better. But alas!”
Notably, during the 2017 assembly elections, banned Sikh body International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) Gurdial Singh had batted for Kejriwal and campaigned for AAP. In 2018, it was revealed by Republic TV that Khalistani groups had funded AAP in the Punjab elections.