CHANDIGARH (TIP): Haryana‘s khap leaders have rejected Aam Aadmi Party’s invitation to attend the party’s Rohtak rally, scheduled to be held on February 23. The leaders on Thursday said khap panchayats are social platforms and they want to stay away from political stages.

AAP‘s national executive member Naveen Jaihind had invited social organizations, including khap panchayats, to attend the rally to launch the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign. But sources said some khap leaders are likely to attend the rally in their individual capacity. “Few khap leaders have even applied to seek AAP tickets for Lok Sabha elections in Haryana,” said a khap leader.

Dhankhar khap president Om Prakash Dhankhar said they won’t attend the rally as they want to raise social issues not political ones. “We have members from different sections of the society who have affiliation with different political parties. So, we cannot associate khaps with any particular party,” he said.