Ahead of poll, ‘separatist’ Kejri in spot

Chandigarh: Amid the controversy over his ‘UP, Bihar ke bhaiyya’ remark, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi launched a counter-attack on his Delhi counterpart and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal over the statements of his former party colleague and poet Kumar Vishwas, who had alleged that Kejriwal once told him that “he would either become CM (of Punjab) or first PM of an independent nation (Khalistan)”.

Taking to Twitter, Channi on Thursday night shared Kumar Vishwas’ video that has created a row amid the elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The row started after Vishwas, one of the founding members of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), allegedly spoke about the collaboration between Kejriwal and Khalistani separatists in an interview. In a video, Vishwas can be heard saying, “One day, he (Kejriwal) told me he would either become CM (of Punjab) or first PM of an independent nation (Khalistan)... he wants power at any cost.”

Meanwhile, AAP responded to Vishwas’ allegations and tweeted a clip from an interview of Kejriwal. “They are saying Delhi’s CM is planning to bifurcate India and becoming the PM of one part. Is this believable,” the AAP tweeted, adding, “He (Kumar Vishwas) is a comic-poet, he says anything. (Prime Minister) Modi and (Congress leader) Rahul ji took it seriously.” The prime minister, in his rally in Punjab yesterday, also targeted Kejriwal and accused his party, AAP, of “dreaming to break up” the state. — Agencies