New Delhi:- Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann today met President Draupadi Murmu and termed the joining of 7 Rajya Sabha members of Aam Aadmi Party to BJP as ‘unconstitutional’. Talking to reporters outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mann launched a scathing attack on the central government and said that vile tactics like ‘Operation Lotus’ will never succeed in Punjab.
The Chief Minister said in clear terms that the membership of the members who have betrayed the party should be cancelled immediately. He alleged that the central government is trying to destabilise the elected governments by misusing agencies like ED and CBI.
Taking a dig at BJP leaders' statements that Punjab is the next target after the West Bengal victory, Mann said, "Punjab is not a truck that will start driving only when its turn comes. This is the state that has been the first to stand firm in every crisis faced by the country." He added that BJP currently has only 2 MLAs in Punjab and this number may be 'zero' in the next elections.
Mann wrote on the X that the departure of 7 MPs is the murder of democracy. He said that Punjabis never tolerate betrayal and his government will fight till the 'last breath' to protect the mandate of the people and constitutional values.
It is worth mentioning that on April 24, 7 out of 10 AAP Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Sahni and Swati Maliwal had left the party and joined the BJP. Of these, 6 members belong to Punjab.