Raghav Chadha, alongwith MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal met President Murmu and flagged concerns regarding the AAP-led Punjab government's actions.
Raghav Chadha, who recently switched over to the BJP from AAP alongwith six other Rajya Sabha MPs, claimed vendetta politics by his former party and said that sources have told him he would be the “next target”. He also accused the party of behaving like an “obssessed, jilted” ex partner who cannot move on.
On Tuesday, Chadha, alongwith MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal met President Droupadi Murmu and flagged concerns regarding the AAP-led Punjab government's actions on some MPs. “We told the President about the way the Punjab government has been using state machinery for dangerous vendetta politics against the MPs who left AAP to join the BJP,” Chadha said in a media interaction.
“According to sources, I will be their next target. The Punjab govt hired agencies to threaten us on social media,” Chadha further said.
Later, Chadha took to X and shared a picture of the MPs with the President and said they strength from her “assurance” on constitutional rights and democratic choices. “AAP today behaves less like a political party and more like an obsessed, jilted ex — bitter, vindictive, and unable to move on,” Chadha wrote.His allegations against the AAP came days after Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB)'s raids on a textile major’s unit linked to MP Rajinder Gupta in Dhaula, and reports of two FIRs against MP Sandeep Gupta in the state.
President assured us protection'
Chadha also said that in the meeting with President Murmu, the newly-inducted BJP MPs were assured “protection” as they flagged targeting by the AAP. “The President has assured us of our protection and of protecting the Constitution,” Chadha said.
A similar assertion was made by MP Sandeep Pathak who also spoke to the media after the meeting. As reported by HT earlier, two cases under non-bailable sections were filed against Pathak in Punjab. However, it was never officially confirmed by the police or the Rajya Sabha MP, it wasn't clear what the FIRs were in connection with.
Reacting to his decision to quit the AAP, the Punjab MP said: “We had decided to leave AAP based on our rights given by the Constitution. AAP is trying to intimidate us by filing fake FIRs. We will fight a legal battle... We are working for the interest of the country."
Sandeep Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikramjit Sahney were the seven MPs who switched over to the BJP recently, reducing AAP's tally in Rajya Sabha to three.
Days after joining hands with the BJP, two AAP MPs - Sandeep Pathak and Rajinder Gupta, faced action in Punjab.
While the PPCB conducted raids at a Dhaula unit of the Trident Group, founded by Gupta, sources said two FIRs were filed against Sandeep Pathak, who was earlier credited with steering the AAP towards a decisive win against Congress in 2022 Assembly elections.
Team Bhagwant Mann also meeting President
The rebel AAP MPs aren't the only ones who had a meeting scheduled with the President. A team led by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is also meeting President Murmu to raise objection against the Rajya Sabha MPs' BJP switch.
As stated in an earlier HT report, the Punjab legislators accompanying Mann would stand outside and wait as he presents the “concerns” of the people of the state regarding the switch.
Mann also plans to hand over a copy of the confidence motion passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on May 1 in the wake of speculations regarding his government’s stability triggered by these defections.
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