AAP leader Phoolka quits party to focus on anti-Sikh riot cases

Senior advocate HS Phoolka announced on Saturday that he was quitting all posts of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but clarified that he would remain a member of the rookie party.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Phoolka said that he had decided to part ways with active politics by stepping down from AAP posts, including that of the party spokesperson, to focus on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case that he has been fighting.

Phoolka, who joined the AAP in 2014, contested the Lok Sabha election from Ludhiana that year. He lost to Ravneet Singh Bittu of the Congress by 19,709 votes.
He clarified that he continued to be part of the AAP, adding that he had taken the decision after a meeting with party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the Delhi chief minister.

Facebook letter

In an open letter posted on his Facebook page, Phoolka said that he wanted to devote time to the ongoing anti-Sikh riot cases against Congress leaders, including Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, so that he could take the case to a logical conclusion.

Phoolka has been spearheading a campaign for justice to the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi. The riots followed the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and resulted in the killing of 2,733 Sikhs and the displacement of over 50,000 members of the community within two days.