Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has sought an urgent appointment with the President of India to address the deepening political crisis following the defection of seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Accompanied by a delegation of state MLAs, Mann intends to travel to New Delhi to formally request the disqualification of these lawmakers, arguing that their switch of allegiance constitutes a betrayal of the democratic mandate given by the people of Punjab. The Chief Minister has maintained that these representatives were elected solely through the efforts and platform of the AAP and that their move to the BJP is both unconstitutional and ethically void.
The defecting members, including high-profile figures such as Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal, along with Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, and Swati Maliwal, reportedly claim to have formed a separate faction after nearly two-thirds of the party’s upper house strength shifted. Mann has publicly labeled the group as “gaddars” (traitors), asserting that the BJP is attempting to destabilize the Punjab government through the misuse of central agencies and political inducements. He further remarked that these individuals were “non-mass leaders” who were rewarded with positions they could not have achieved independently, and that they have now “sold the mandate” for personal gain.
This move to involve the President marks a significant escalation in the confrontation between the AAP-led Punjab government and the Centre. Mann has accused the BJP of being hostile toward Punjab, citing the withholding of Rural Development Funds and National Health Mission grants as evidence of a broader agenda to weaken the state. As the Chief Minister prepares to present his case in the capital, the political atmosphere in Punjab remains highly charged, with opposition leaders from the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal describing the defections as a sign of the total collapse of the AAP’s internal command structure.
