Senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon has said that Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has lost the moral authority to continue as a Member of Parliament after the collapse of the Congress-Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) alliance under which he contested and won the Lok Sabha election.
In a statement, Tandon stated that the people of Chandigarh had voted for a combined political platform presented by Congress and the AAP during the parliamentary elections. However, both Congress and AAP fought the Mayoral election held earlier this year separately. He said that both parties have ‘politically separated’ and are openly attacking each other in several states.
Tandon added that even in the recent Punjab local bodies elections, AAP and Congress fought against each other. “The divorce between the two is final and irrevocable. This knocks out the very basis on which the mandate was sought from the Chandigarh electorate,” said Tandon.
Tandon said that Manish Tewari did not contest the elections solely on the strength of the Congress party, but benefited directly from the alliance arrangement and support extended by AAP workers and voters.
“The mandate was for the Congress-AAP alliance. Since that alliance no longer exists, Manish Tewari must respect democratic morality and immediately resign from the post of MP,” he said.
The BJP leader further added that politics should not merely be about constitutional legality, but also about ethical accountability towards the people. He alleged that voters in Chandigarh were misled into believing that both parties would work together in the interest of governance and development, but the alliance has now completely fallen apart.
Tandon asserted that if Tewari truly respects public sentiment and democratic principles, he should seek a fresh mandate from the people of Chandigarh instead of continuing in office under changed political circumstances.
He also said that the BJP remains committed to transparent and principled politics and will continue to raise issues concerning public accountability and political integrity.