Chandigarh, April 25
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday criticized seven Rajya Sabha members who quit the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that individually they hold limited political significance.
Mann made the remarks in a social media post, using a culinary analogy to describe the group. He compared the leaders to different spices, saying that while they may contribute when combined, they do not amount to a complete dish on their own.
The comment came a day after Mann had referred to the defecting members as traitors following their exit from the party.
The development follows a major political shift in which seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, announced their decision to leave the party and align with the BJP. The others named in the group include Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal, and Vikramjit Sahney.
Some of the leaders who left the party have stated that the Aam Aadmi Party has moved away from its core values and principles, prompting them to switch sides.
In earlier remarks after the defections, Mann accused the BJP of attempting to weaken the Aam Aadmi Party by encouraging political exits. He also alleged that the defecting leaders had betrayed the people of Punjab.
The Chief Minister further claimed that the BJP’s lack of strong political presence in Punjab had led it to adopt such strategies, while also stating that his government’s focus on governance improvements had unsettled the opposition.
The matter marks a significant political development in Punjab, with both sides trading allegations over the reasons and implications of the defections.
