Indian Punjab CM urges President to revoke 6 AAP defectors’ Rajya Sabha membership
New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met President Droupadi Murmu and urged her to cancel the Rajya Sabha membership of six MPs from the state who were elected on Aam Aadmi Party tickets but later merged with the BJP, terming their act a “mockery” and “murder” of the Constitution.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mann told the President that the MPs could not simply declare themselves a separate group and merge with another party, as there was “no provision in law that permitted such a route.” He said the move violated constitutional principles on defections and turned the voters’ mandate into a “negotiable instrument.”
“The mandate belongs to the people and cannot be altered midway through internal manoeuvres,” Mann told reporters after the meeting. He added that if the MPs had differences with AAP, they should have resigned and returned to the electorate, and called for Parliament to consider a recall mechanism to ensure accountability. The move follows the April 24 exit of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs — six from Punjab — including Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, and Vikramjit Sahney, who merged with the BJP citing departure from AAP’s principles. Hours later, the defecting MPs also met the President, alleging political vendetta.
