NEW DELHI: After the exodus of seven Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MPs, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu on May 5 to 'safeguard the mandate of the people.' Mann has sought time to meet the President along with party MLAs to press for the 'recall' of the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Meeting Details
In a social media post on X, Mann stated that although he had requested time to meet President Murmu along with AAP MLAs from Punjab over the defection issue, the President agreed to meet him alone on May 5 at 12 noon. He mentioned that he will arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan with party MLAs, who will wait outside while he presents the people's concerns.
'It is our duty to safeguard the mandate of the people of Punjab and democratic values. I am delighted to inform you that the Honourable President Droupadi Murmu Ji has granted a meeting time of 12 noon on 5 May. Although we had requested time for all MLAs, I alone have received the invitation to meet,' Mann said.
'I shall arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan with my fellow MLAs. My fellow MLAs will remain outside, and I shall go in to present the voice of Punjab and the people's side with full strength before the Honourable President Ji on behalf of all. The next strategy will be shared following the meeting. Heartfelt thanks to the Honourable President Ji for giving this precious time,' he added.
Legal Context
However, there is no provision in the law for recalling a legislator. On April 24, the Aam Aadmi Party suffered a major setback when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs—Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney, and Swati Maliwal—quit and merged with the BJP, alleging that the party had strayed from its principles, values, and core morals. Six of these seven MPs were from Punjab.
'We have decided that we, two-thirds of members belonging to the AAP in the Rajya Sabha, will exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge with the BJP,' Raghav Chadha stated at a press conference.
Escalating Tensions
The fallout followed weeks of escalating tensions between Chadha and the party leadership. Earlier this month, he was removed as AAP's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and accused by senior leaders of engaging in 'soft PR' instead of aggressively challenging the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His growing distance from the party had become evident over the past year, as Chadha was abroad when Kejriwal was arrested in the excise policy case in March 2024 and remained away during his nearly six-month incarceration.
Senior party leaders also alleged that Chadha had been reluctant to raise issues aligned with AAP's political stand. They pointed to his refusal to sign a notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his failure to join opposition walkouts in Parliament. Chadha, however, rejected these allegations, calling them 'white lies' and challenging the party to provide evidence.
Official Acceptance
Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday officially accepted the merger of the MPs with the BJP, reducing the strength of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the Upper House to three. According to the updated list, the Congress has 29 members, while the Trinamool Congress holds 13 seats. The DMK has 8 members, followed by the YSR Congress Party with 7. The Biju Janata Dal has 6 members, and the AIADMK has 5. The Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party, and Nationalist Congress Party have 4 members each.
