Chandigarh Congress leader Pardeep Chhabra joins AAP in presence of Delhi CM Kejriwal

Former Chandigarh Congress leader Pardeep Chhabra on Friday joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in New Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also present at Chhabra's introduction to other party members in the national capital. Former Mayor Chhabra, who had been in disagreement with his ex- party's unit president and other leaders of the camp and later, resigned from the party membership on August 6. Notably, Chhabra's resignation came a day after Congress had served him a notice over his anti-party activities.  

Chhabra receives warm welcome to AAP

As Pardeep made his exit from the Congress, AAP's Team Building Incharge Durgesh Pathak and Punjab in-charge Jarnail Singh welcomed him to the party.

AAP Chandigarh president Prem Garg and Mukhi Sharma while welcoming Chhabra to AAP said, "His (Chhabra) welcome to the party would strengthen the party and it would win maximum seats in the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who was also present in the meeting received gratifying comments from the ex congress Chief and Chhabra assured him that he would get maximum seats in the Municipal corporation elections 

Chhabra posts resignation to Sonia Gandhi; accuses of being treated like 'puppet'

In his resignation letter addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Chhabra stated that he was quitting all posts and primary membership of the party. The leader also attacked former Union minister, Pawan Kumar Bansal alleging he treated him as a 'puppet'.

In the letter he wrote, "I had joined as a member of NSUI in Chandigarh 35 years back as I believed in the ideology of the party and the vision of inclusive, liberal, and progressive politics of the Indian National Congress. I had served for the people of Chandigarh as a councillor for 15 years, senior Deputy Mayor of Chandigarh and Mayor of Chandigarh.”

Chhabra rued that he never asked and sought rewards or returns to himself in the hope that the party will respect his contributions. “I was being treated as a puppet who was controlled by Pawan Kumar Bansal. I had no other option but to take this step which I hadn't imagined even in my dreams because of the dictatorship attitude of Bansal,” Notably, in an open letter to the city's party activists last week, Chhabra had alleged that those who had been working for the party for more than three decades had been ignored in the recent list of office bearers released by the party's city unit," Chabbra said.

(Image Credits - Twitter/PTI)