Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu to meet her along with AAP MLAs over the issue of Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab joining the BJP, according to party sources.
Mann will present the party’s position in connection to the “recall” of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab who left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP, the sources added. The move comes a day after seven Rajya Sabha MPs, including six from Punjab, defected to the BJP.
In a sudden development on Friday, AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak announced their resignation from the party and said they were joining the BJP along with five other MPs. The other MPs named were Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal and Vikramjit Sahney.
Chadha claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had moved away from its founding principles, values and moral commitments, which prompted his decision to join the BJP. He said the seven MPs had merged with the BJP as a separate faction.
Following the defections, Mann accused the BJP of attempting to weaken the Aam Aadmi Party and said the leaders had betrayed the people of Punjab. Mann alleged that the BJP’s discomfort had grown after the state enacted a strict law against ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege). He also said none of the seven Rajya Sabha members were mass leaders. “Even a sarpanch has a vote bank. Do they have any vote bank?” he asked.
The chief minister further accused the BJP of trying to destabilise a corruption-free government through pressure, inducements and engineered defections, claiming the party lacked political support in Punjab.
Mann said visible improvements in schools, hospitals, roads and employment had unsettled the BJP, which has struggled to gain political ground in the state.
Currently, the Aam Aadmi Party holds 94 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.
Also read: Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal join BJP
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