Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday termed AAP’s Rajya Sabha members who resigned from the party and announced joining the BJP as “gaddars” (traitors).
Addressing mediapersons here, Mann alleged that the BJP was attempting to break the Aam Aadmi Party and had betrayed the people of Punjab. He said when no allegations could be levelled against his government, efforts were made to weaken AAP from within. Mann returned on Friday after a nearly week-long visit to the Netherlands and Finland aimed at attracting investments to Punjab.
The chief minister alleged that the BJP was uncomfortable with his growing popularity among people. Mann said he does not operate through any group and that the people themselves are his strength.
“People of Punjab love me wholeheartedly,” he said. He alleged that the BJP could not accept Punjab becoming vibrant and progressing, and therefore decided to target and weaken the party. He added that the BJP currently has only two MLAs in Punjab. Mann said he strongly condemned both the leaders who defected and what he described as the BJP’s style of politics.
He claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah may not have liked the fact that there was no political alternative to Bhagwant Mann in Punjab. Mann said he has been receiving several calls from people expressing support for AAP. He added that a party is bigger than individuals and that 6-7 people leaving does not represent Punjab. He again called the defectors traitors.
Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak announced that they were joining the BJP along with five other MPs. Addressing a joint press conference in Delhi, Chadha and Pathak claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs had quit the party and would function as a separate faction within the BJP. He said Swati Maliwal and Harbhajan Singh were among the seven MPs who resigned.
Speaking to reporters, Mann said he has repeatedly maintained that the BJP does not understand Punjab or Punjabis. He alleged that whenever Punjabis feel happy or satisfied with any development, the BJP attempts to disrupt it.
Mann claimed that after the AAP government came to power in Punjab, the Centre withheld rural development funds meant for the state. He alleged that the "BJP started keeping a grudge against Punjab after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to take a U-turn over the (now-repealed three) farm laws".
Referring to issues like the Bhakra Beas Management Board, Mann said these developments show that the BJP cannot win elections in Punjab and instead resorts to political manoeuvring. He alleged that the BJP betrayed Punjabis by encouraging defections among AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs.
“But Punjabis do not tolerate betrayal, he said. When Punjabis shower their love, they do so from the heart, but when anyone betrays them, they teach such a lesson that one remembers for generations,” Mann said.
The chief minister said the BJP was unsettled by the work done by the AAP government. He cited initiatives such as 300 units of free electricity, uninterrupted power supply to farmers, more than 65,000 government jobs, and a legislation against sacrilege as examples of his government’s achievements.
Referring again to the defecting MPs, Mann said they had entered the Rajya Sabha without directly seeking votes from the public and were given opportunities by the party, yet chose to leave. He said the defectors would not achieve much in their new political space.
Questioning the political future of leaders who joined the BJP from other parties, Mann cited examples such as Capt Amarinder Singh and Manpreet Singh Badal and asked whether they remain politically visible today. He alleged that even Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu would be sidelined once the BJP finds him politically irrelevant.
Mann said the BJP is not truly a party of the people but of leaders who either left or were removed from other political parties.
"In West Bengal, they tried to break Mamata Banerjee's party, but they did not succeed. They tried to do this with Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray's party. Where is (JJP leader) Dushyant Chautala? The BJP had made him deputy chief minister in Haryana. In Odisha, no one could defeat Naveen Patnaik...the outfit with whom they ally, they gobble up that party," Mann said. "Yeh Bande Khani Party hai," he said about the BJP.
Mann said “Suddenly Raghav Chadha is feeling stifled. Even a bicycle has a stand; they should have some stand.” He also referred to recent Enforcement Directorate raids at the premises of MP Ashok Mittal.
Alleging misuse of institutions, Mann said the BJP does not function democratically and instead relies on Central agencies such as the ED and CBI. He further alleged that similar tactics were used earlier against political opponents including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Also read: Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal join BJP
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