Seven AAP MPs Join BJP, Punjab CM Seeks Presidential Meeting to Recall Them
Raghav Chadha leads mass exit citing party strayed from principles; AAP demands disqualification under Tenth Schedule
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- Seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, six from Punjab, have merged with the BJP citing the party strayed from its principles.
- Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann seeks presidential meeting to seek recall of these MPs.
- Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh will demand disqualification of Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, and Sandeep Pathak under the Tenth Schedule, arguing joining BJP amounts to voluntarily relinquishing original party membership.
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Warum es wichtig ist
The mass defection comes after AAP, founded on anti-corruption principles, faced multiple controversies including the Delhi liquor policy case involving Arvind Kejriwal's arrest. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution deals with disqualification on grounds of defection, but the 'merger clause' allows 2/3rd of a party's MPs to merge with another party without disqualification.
NEW DELHI: A day after seven AAP MPs, six from Punjab, switched to the BJP, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann sought an appointment to meet President Droupadi Murmu. He is expected to meet her along with party legislators from the state to seek the “recall” of these MPs. The development comes after AAP faced a major setback when Raghav Chadha, along with six other parliamentarians, left the party and decided to merge with the BJP.
At a press conference on Friday, Chadha said the decision came after MPs felt that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals. He also referred to himself as the “right man in the wrong party” while announcing the move. “We have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” he said at the Constitution Club in Delhi.
The reported exit includes several prominent names such as Swati Maliwal, cricketer-turned-Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta and Vikramjit Singh Sahney, among others.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said he will write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman demanding disqualification of three MPs under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with disqualification on grounds of defection. In a post on X, he said, "I will submit a letter to the Hon'ble Rajya Sabha Chairman, in which a demand will be made to declare Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, and Sandeep Pathak disqualified from Rajya Sabha membership for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as this is tantamount to voluntarily relinquishing membership of their original party under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution."
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KI-Ausblick — Möglichkeiten, keine Fakten
President Murmu is unlikely to intervene directly in the recall demand as it's a parliamentary matter
Wahrscheinlich · Innerhalb von Tagen
Rajya Sabha Chairman will likely reject disqualification demands citing the merger clause
Wahrscheinlich · Innerhalb von Wochen
This defection may trigger more exits from AAP in coming weeks
Möglich · Innerhalb von Wochen
Offene Fragen
- Will President Murmu agree to meet Punjab CM on this matter?
- Will the Rajya Sabha Chairman accept AAP's demand for disqualification?
- Will more AAP MPs follow the merger?
- How will this affect AAP's presence in Punjab politics?
