Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann heads to Delhi to meet the President, raising legal concerns over recent Rajya Sabha defections and seeking action on MPs who joined BJP.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks to reporters ahead of his scheduled meeting with President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday raised questions over political defections ahead of his scheduled meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, asking whether individuals become “above the law” after joining the BJP.
The development comes amid a fresh political flashpoint over the exit of several Aam Aadmi Party leaders from the Rajya Sabha and their subsequent move to the BJP. Mann indicated that he would place the matter before the President, stressing that legal principles must remain paramount in such cases.
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“There should be a law; otherwise, five people from a party will claim that they are a different party. Can someone be above the law after joining the BJP? The law is supreme. I will inform the President and apprise her about everything,” Mann told reporters before leaving for Delhi.
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Mann is travelling to the national capital along with Punjab MLAs, though Rashtrapati Bhavan has formally invited only him for the meeting. The Chief Minister is expected to brief the President on what he described as the “developments of the whole issue” concerning MPs who left the AAP.
Punjab minister Lal Chand Kataruchakk alleged that the BJP was uneasy ahead of the meeting and said the AAP would press for action against the MPs who switched sides. “We will demand the cancellation of the membership of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who joined the BJP…Punjab will not get scared…We will show the nation how to fight against the BJP,” he told ANI.
Another minister, Hardeep Singh Mundian, said the Chief Minister would seek cancellation of Rajya Sabha membership of leaders who joined the BJP. He also referred to a parallel meeting by Raghav Chadha, criticising it as political posturing.
“We will demand the cancellation of the membership of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who joined the BJP…Raghav Chadha is also going to meet the President to do drama,” Mundian told ANI.
Notably, Chadha is also expected to meet the President separately and may raise concerns over what he alleges is targeting of AAP MPs who moved to the BJP in Punjab.
The political row follows the recent exit of several AAP Rajya Sabha members, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, who joined the BJP last month. Others who switched sides include Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal.
The developments have triggered a wider debate over defections and the legal framework governing party-switching in Parliament.
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