Punjab Congress President Pargat Singh on Sunday, 4 October launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), calling its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal a 'true dictator' after the party suspended sitting legislator Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana over alleged anti-party activities and indiscipline. The suspension came within hours of Maiserkhana publicly criticising his own government over a teacher shortage in Punjab's government schools.

What Triggered the Suspension

AAP MLA from Maur constituency, Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, broke down during a live Facebook video on Saturday while flagging the acute shortage of teachers in government schools and alleging he had repeatedly raised the issue with the authorities without resolution. Within roughly two hours of the video going viral, AAP moved to suspend his primary membership, citing anti-party conduct.

Pargat Singh's Attack on AAP

'This is the true face of the Aam Aadmi Party. They used to showcase a model of education and health. But one of their own MLAs said that proper arrangements for education are not in place. Within two hours — this is dictatorship. Kejriwal is a pure dictator. He is one thing to show and another thing in practice,' Pargat Singh said.

Singh argued that the swift suspension exposed the contradiction at the heart of AAP's governance pitch — a party that built its political identity on transforming public education and healthcare had, in his view, silenced an elected representative for raising concerns about both.

Broader Law-and-Order Concerns

Pargat Singh also widened his critique beyond the suspension, alleging a deteriorating law-and-order situation across Punjab rooted in what he described as an absence of credible leadership. 'I think two, three, or four murders are happening every day in Punjab; there is no law and order, and there is no professionalism. This is because there is no leader. There is no leader in the police, and there is a lack of will in political leadership as well,' he said.

He argued that the same police force performs well under firm, professional command but becomes dysfunctional when it is, as he put it, 'leaderless.' Critics of the Congress, however, note that the party itself governed Punjab for multiple terms and bore responsibility for institutional weaknesses that long predate the current AAP administration.

On Institutional Erosion

Addressing broader democratic concerns — including the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar — Singh said the erosion of institutions poses a deeper risk than any individual's fall from grace. 'Losing trust in an individual is one thing, but when institutions get demolished, that is a huge loss for the country. As they say, a person dying is not true death, but the death of their conscience is true death,' he said.

New Congress Chief, New Offensive

Pargat Singh was recently appointed president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), succeeding Amarinder Singh Raja Warring who stepped down as Punjab Congress chief. The MLA's remarks represent an early and aggressive posture from the newly installed leadership, signalling that Congress intends to use AAP's internal contradictions as a sustained political line of attack ahead of the next assembly cycle.

With the Maiserkhana episode now drawing national attention, all eyes will be on whether other AAP MLAs in Punjab voice similar grievances — and how the party manages dissent within its own ranks going forward.