The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday intensified its response to the defection of seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced he would seek a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to demand the recall of the defecting members, while party MP Sanjay Singh stated that the party would initiate disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.
Mann to lead delegation to President
Bhagwant Mann said he would lead a delegation of AAP legislators to present the party's case, describing the defections as a "betrayal of the mandate." Six of the seven MPs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikramjit Sahney — are from Punjab, while Swati Maliwal represents Delhi. The party argued that switching sides undermines the democratic process and requires a constitutional precedent for removing members who abandoned the party under whose ticket they entered the Upper House.
Disqualification proceedings sought
In Delhi, Sanjay Singh said the party would write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Vice-President, seeking termination of the MPs' membership under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. "On Friday, seven individuals announced their decision to join the BJP in a manner that was unconstitutional, illegal, and against the rules," Singh stated. "It has no legal recognition, and this was also clearly established in the Shiv Sena case." He added, "The defection of these seven Rajya Sabha MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party is entirely illegal, incorrect, unconstitutional, and against parliamentary rules," asserting that "no form of split is permissible" and even a two-thirds breakaway "has no legal validity." Singh said he would submit a detailed letter citing these provisions and seek "complete termination of the membership of all seven MPs," noting that three — Chadha, Pathak, and Mittal — "clearly went to the BJP office," while action would also be sought against the remaining four.
BJP lacks local support in Punjab: Mann
The Chief Minister took a swipe at the BJP, claiming the party remains a non-entity in Punjab with only two legislators. He argued that because the BJP has no local support in the state, it is forced to "import" leaders from other parties to maintain a semblance of presence. He alleged that the BJP, unable to find any grounds to target him personally, resorted to misuse of the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI to intimidate AAP leaders.
Forged signatures alleged
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed the seven MPs cannot escape the anti-defection law, pointing to discrepancies in the defection letter. "Rajinder Gupta is getting treated for bypass surgery abroad, and Swati Maliwal has not mentioned in her social media post on Friday that she signed the letter submitted by Raghav Chadha. We are confident the Vice-President will take a decision as per the Constitution, and these MPs will be disqualified," he said. "Two of these signatures may have been forged or fabricated to claim that two-thirds of the MPs are switching sides."
Seechewal not contacted
Balbir Singh Seechewal, the sole AAP MP representing Punjab in the Rajya Sabha who did not defect, clarified he was never approached by the BJP or any other party. He confirmed he had had no contact with Raghav Chadha or the other six defectors. "Chadha had once invited me for tea while coming out (of Parliament) but I did not meet him," he said.
