CHANDIGARH, April 26 — A political confrontation intensified on Sunday as the Aam Aadmi Party officially requested the disqualification of seven Rajya Sabha MPs who recently aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party. MP Sanjay Singh submitted the petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan, asserting that the actions of the defecting members constitute a clear breach of the anti-defection law.
Singh maintained that the party will not tolerate the betrayal of its principles and has sought the termination of the memberships of Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney. He stated that the AAP has called for the Vice-President to intervene and hear the matter at the earliest possible opportunity. According to Singh, legal experts have affirmed that the Tenth Schedule provides no protection for such a factional move in the Rajya Sabha.
The AAP leader asserted that the defectors are attempting to legitimize their shift by citing governance concerns, but he declared that these claims are merely a cover for personal political motives. Singh mentioned that the party is confident in the legal strength of its petition, noting that constitutional provisions were ignored by the members during their transition to the BJP. He stated that the leadership remains firm in its commitment to the people of Punjab and the rest of the country.
The move marks a significant legal challenge in the Upper House, with the AAP emphasizing that legislative status cannot be retained after abandoning the party ticket. Singh declared that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s tactics to weaken opposition parties are a threat to democracy. He asserted that the AAP will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that the mandate given by the people is respected.
