New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS) Delhi BJP claimed on Sunday that a rift has emerged within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with a sizeable number of legislators distancing themselves from efforts to defend Leader of the Opposition Atishi over her alleged disrespectful remark on Sikh Gurus.

Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that AAP MLAs seem to have virtually abandoned Atishi as 21 out of the party’s 22 MLAs did not turn up for a protest organised in her support on Sunday.

Kapoor added that it is not possible for almost all AAP MLAs to remain absent from a protest on an issue related to the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly without the consent of National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

The BJP leader said the rift in AAP was possibly spreading at the behest of Kejriwal himself.

Kapoor stated that since the issue is related to Sikhs and Punjab, Kejriwal attempted to suppress the matter by orchestrating a fabrication and getting a video of Atishi’s controversial remarks about Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji declared “fake”.

However, it now appears that the political gap between Kejriwal and Atishi has widened considerably, he said.

The Delhi BJP spokesperson said that the AAP had announced a protest near the BJP office in support of Atishi, but the party could barely mobilise around 100 workers for the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva said the video on Atishi’s disrespectful remarks in the Assembly, posted by Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra on his social media account, is authentic.

The Speaker of Delhi Assembly has ordered an investigation into the clip, and once the report comes, the truth will be clear, he added.

–IANS

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