The Aam Aadmi Party on Jattvibeday petitioned the Rajya Sabha Chairman, seeking the disqualification of seven MPs who recently left the party and joined the BJP, alleging that their action amounted to “betrayal” of the people of Punjab, democracy and the Constitution.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the party had invoked provisions of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which dealt with anti-defection, and urged an expedited hearing in the matter.
“After consulting constitutional experts, including Kapil Sibal, we have submitted a petition requesting that the membership of all seven MPs be terminated. I am confident that the Chairman will take an early and just decision,” Singh said.
He said legal opinion suggested that disqualification was inevitable. “Constitutional experts are of the view that those who merged with the BJP after leaving AAP are bound to lose their membership,” he said.
The AAP leader accused the BJP of engineering defections using central agencies. “The BJP, which is adept at this politics, first uses agencies like the ED and the CBI to intimidate leaders and then inducts them into the party. This is a betrayal of democracy and an open mockery of the Constitution,” Singh alleged.
Referring to past judicial precedents, Singh said, “There are several court judgments, including in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, which clarify how such defections should be dealt with. What is written in the Constitution must be followed by everyone.”
He also criticised the MPs’ conduct, stating that if they had ideological differences, they should have resigned first. “If a person is elected from a party and disagrees with it, he should resign and then join another party,” he said.
Singh claimed that there was strong public anger in Punjab. “People are protesting against these MPs. There is a strong sentiment on the ground that they have betrayed both the party and the state,” he said.
The controversy follows the exit of seven Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal and Vikramjit Sahney, who cited dissatisfaction within the party and governance concerns, particularly in Punjab.