“Vikram Sahney called. He said they were forming an independent group, and many had signed on. He asked me to sign too,” Seechewal claimed.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, the Padma Shri-winning environmentalist-spiritual leader, has claimed that Vikram Sahney, who is among the seven party MPs merging with the BJP, had reached out to him before they went public with their move.
“Vikram Sahney called. He said they were forming an independent group, and many had signed on. He asked me to sign too,” Seechewal told local media in Punjab.
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However, Seechewal rejected the offer. “I said no. I had no desire for that.”
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The AAP MP said that Sahney had even told him that “the university one” – a reference to fellow MP Ashok Mittal, had also signed.
Mittal, the founder of Lovely Professional University, was appointed as Rajya Sabha deputy leader following Raghav Chadha’s removal from the post. Coincidentally, his university was raided by the Enforcement Directorate following his appointment and within days, he joined the BJP.
Speaking to Punjab Tak, Seechewal further stated that he was reached out to by Raghav Chadha during the recent Parliament session. “‘Baba ji, tuhanu aapan chaa piaiye, baith ke (Let’s have tea together)”, Chadha told Seechewal, to which he responded, “pee lo tusi”. According to Seechewal, this was the first time his fellow AAP MPs had given a tea invitation to him.
His remarks came two days after several AAP Rajya Sabha MPs – Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Vikram Sahney, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh and Rajinder Gupta – merged with the BJP.
They alleged that the party has deviated from its principles and accused its leader Arvind Kejriwal of corruption.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has moved a petition before the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Vice President, CP Radhakrishnan, seeking the disqualification of the seven of its MPs.
Terming their move a “betrayal of the people of Punjab,” AAP leader Sanjay Singh stated that constitutional experts believe the disqualification of these MPs is inevitable.
He asserted that their actions amounted not only to a betrayal of the AAP but also of the people of Punjab, democracy, and the Constitution.
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