CHANDIGARH, June 29: The Aam Aadmi Party has suspended its Amritsar North MLA and former IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh for five years, citing “anti-party activities” following his public criticism of the Vigilance Bureau’s recent action against senior Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia.
The decision was reportedly taken during the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting of the party, after Kunwar Vijay Pratap openly questioned the arrest of Majithia from his Amritsar residence last week. He had called the arrest “unethical” and accused police officers of deliberately facilitating bail during Majithia’s earlier arrest, pointing to what he claimed was procedural manipulation.
“He questioned the Vigilance Bureau’s crackdown on a political rival, raising doubts about our commitment to the anti-drug campaign. That alone was enough to warrant action,” said a senior AAP leader. “Politics over drug cases cannot be tolerated. The party has made it clear—those who hinder the anti-drug fight will find no place with us.”
This is not the first time Kunwar Vijay Pratap has taken a dissenting line within the party. A former cop who joined politics on a reformist plank, he has consistently raised questions about the AAP government’s approach to handling sensitive issues such as the 2015 sacrilege cases. Though critical of the Shiromani Akali Dal and its leadership, the MLA had recently said that his objections were not political but ethical, rooted in the procedural fairness of state action.
“I have ideological differences with Majithia, but due process must be followed. Ethics and integrity in investigation cannot be compromised,” he had remarked recently while speaking to reporters in Amritsar.
Party insiders say Kunwar Vijay Pratap had stopped attending party meetings for the past few months and was increasingly seen as an outlier within AAP’s Punjab unit.
The MLA has so far not issued a formal response to the suspension, but on Friday evening, he posted a cryptic message on his social media, quoting from Gurbani: “Kabir, jisu marne te jag dare, mere man anand” — loosely translating to “What the world fears, brings bliss to me.” The post is being read as a sign that he has no regrets over his stance or the disciplinary action taken against him.
AAP’s move, coming just months ahead of a crucial phase of its governance cycle in Punjab, signals a tightening of internal discipline as the party doubles down on its anti-drug narrative and attempts to ward off criticism from both within and outside its ranks.
