Punjab CM Mann to Meet President Murmu Over AAP MPs Joining BJP
CM Mann expressed confidence that the President would hear his concerns, describing her as the “guardian of India’s Constitution"
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is visiting Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Droupadi Murmu and raise concerns over seven AAP MPs shifting to the BJP.
CM Mann expressed confidence that the President would hear his concerns, describing her as the “guardian of India’s Constitution.”
He left for Rashtrapati Bhavan later in the day and is expected to highlight the recent “merger” of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs into the BJP. The MPs include Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.
The Chief Minister is being accompanied by AAP MLAs to New Delhi, though the official invitation from Rashtrapati Bhavan has been extended only to him.
“I think that the President will listen to us. The President is the guardian of the Constitution; she is the constitutional head of the country,” Mann told reporters.
Punjab Minister Aman Arora said the state government would demand revocation of recognition for the MPs who switched parties.
“The people of Punjab had placed their trust in them, but they have now eroded that trust. Their recognition should be revoked,” Arora said, adding that the BJP would not find it easy to gain support in the state.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema described the move as an attempt to weaken democracy and said all 95 AAP MLAs would seek the President’s intervention.
“We will request her to exercise constitutional powers. The BJP’s actions are an attack on democracy, and Punjab will fight to restore it,” Cheema said.
AAP MLA Vijay Singla dismissed rumours of MLAs switching sides, calling them baseless, and said protesting against the MPs’ move was a democratic right.
“There is no truth in claims that our MLAs are shifting. We are going to present our views before the President,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Raghav Chadha is also scheduled to meet President Murmu and is likely to raise concerns over alleged targeting of AAP MPs who joined the BJP.
Last month, Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal left the AAP and joined the BJP. Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal also switched to the party.
