Harsh Dev Singh quits AAP, to revive Panthers Party

Jammu, Feb 16: Veteran politician and former Jammu and Kashmir minister Harsh Dev Singh on Thursday resigned from the primary membership and post of Chairman State of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), ending his 10 month long association with Arvind Kejriwal.
In a letter dashed to the AAP National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, Singh submitted that he resigned from the post of Chairman J&K as well as from Primary membership of Aam Aadmi Party.
Due to some personal reasons, I can no longer continue in the Aam Aadmi Party and therefore quit with immediate effect,” Singh said in a letter.
He said that the communiqué be treated as his resignation from J&K Chairmanship of the Party as well as from its Primary membership.
It is reliably learnt that Harsh Dev Singh is likely to revive its parent body Panthers Party. Singh was Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party from 2012 to 2022. He won three elections serving as MLA for Ramnagar constituency for 18 continuous years from 1996 till 2014.
Under his tenure as the Minister of Education of Jammu and Kashmir from 2002 to 2008, English became a compulsory language from first grade.
However, as per party insiders, Harsh Dev Singh, who joined APP in May last year, hoped that Arvind Kejriwal and AAP will helps him to reshape his political career but got miffed with central leadership of the party after they refused his proposal to get funds for running Jammu and Kashmir office.
Singh, who was appointed as Chairman of AAP’s State Coordination Committee in October 2022, called on central leadership of the party on January 23 and floated a proposal to get Rs 12 lakh per month to run AAP affairs in J&K, which was out rightly rejected by the Arvind Kejriwal led core group.
Singh had joined AAP after a feud erupted in Jammu and Kashmir National Panther’s Panther, which was founded by his uncle and veteran politician Late Professor Bhim Singh.
Former MLA and now BJP leader from Udhampur, who also happens to be cousin of Harsh Dev Singh become first casualty of family fight and quit Panther Party’s presidentship over an argument with Harsh Dev, who was then chairman of the party. Prof Bhim Singh in his last days expelled Harsh Dev and ran the party as president.
Meanwhile, Vilakshan Singh, President, J&K National Panther’s party informed the media that former education minister and former chairman of the party has decided to re-join J&K National Panthers Party.
Singh said that JKNPP welcomed the decision of its former stalwart.
Singh said that with the “Ghar Wapsi” of Harsh Dev Singh, the party shall get a new boost and the public shall also get benefitted.
He said that atrocities of the government are at its peak and people are being harassed by the autocratic attitude of the government.
At this point of time, a strong voice was the need of the hour to espouse the genuine cause of the public. Singh said that Harsh Dev Singh has always stood up for the poor and downtrodden and with his “Ghar wapsi” party shall witness a new dawn. Singh appealed to other leader of the party who had left the party to rejoin the party in order to realize the dreams of Prof. Bhim Singh.
He said that Prof. Bhim Singh has given a platform to the Dogra community and it is the duty of all the Dogras to strengthen the hands of J&K National Panthers Party so that injustice meted out to the Dogras for decades can be undone.