Amritsar: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, rift within Congress and AAP in Punjab widened as the state unit of Congress held a widespread protest against the Bhagwant Mann government over the law and order situation in Punjab. Stating that there is no question of allying with AAP, Punjab Congress President Amrinder Singh Raja Warring told Republic, "We have organised the protest against AAP govt over law and order situation. We will continue to voice our concerns against the AAP government in Punjab. We have not received any word from high command for seat sharing with AAP".

Talks between both parties hit a roadblock after Arvind Kejriwal offered only six out of 13 seats to the Congress. Things further took a turn for the worse when Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira was arrested on January 4 in connection with a 2015 drugs case. Following his arrest, Congress workers hit the streets, accusing Mann of political vendetta. The state unit of the party has been harping on going solo in the state after talks with senior party leaders from both parties failed over seat-sharing.

Claiming that the Mann government is not being able to handle the state, All India Congress Secretary Gurkirat  Singh Kohli told Republic, "All congress workers and leaders are being harassed by AAP.  Fake cases are being filed against Congress workers by AAP govt. So, there is no point of sharing seats with AAP in Punjab.

(With inputs from Amandeep Dixit)