Chandigarh, April 25: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has moved to formally contest the shift of seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha members to the Bharatiya Janata Party, seeking a meeting with the President of India to argue for their recall. The Chief Minister affirmed on Saturday that he, along with a delegation of state legislators, will present facts to President Droupadi Murmu regarding the move he described as a betrayal of the provincial mandate.
The seven members, including Raghav Chadha and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, announced a collective merger with the BJP on Friday. Mann stated that the representatives were elected by the state’s MLAs to represent the will of the people of Punjab in the Upper House. “The people’s choice was AAP in Punjab, and their moving to the BJP is not in line with the mandate,” an official source from the Chief Minister’s Office declared.
While the defecting members maintained that their move is constitutionally protected because they constitute more than two-thirds of the party’s 10-member Rajya Sabha unit, Mann asserted that the move remains a violation of political ethics. He noted that the delegation would voice concerns over the continuation of these members in Parliament after they switched allegiances.
The Chief Minister affirmed that the party’s legislative wing in Punjab remains firmly united despite the exits. He declared that such developments would not weaken the administration’s resolve or its commitment to the state’s development, describing the party as a collective entity that is far larger than any individual leader.
