Will Punjab Be Affected by Raghav Chadha’s Move? AAP and BJP Fight, Protests Start

An tremendous political tempest has erupted in Punjab as a result of Raghav Chadha and six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs joining the BJP. The BJP has hinted at even more significant political upheavals in the coming days, while the AAP has accused the BJP of forsaking the people. 

In order to make his case on the AAP’s request to disqualify its renegade members, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has requested a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu.  Chadha was elected from Punjab to the Rajya Sabha.

Drawing a culinary parallel, Mann said, “Ginger, garlic, cumin, fenugreek powder, red chili, black pepper, and coriander-these 7 things together make the sabzi taste great, but on their own, they can’t become a “sabzi.””

Nayab Saini, the chief minister of Haryana and a member of the BJP, responded to him by calling it an anti-farmer statement. Protests broke out earlier today outside the homes of Punjabi Rajya Sabha MPs who defected to the BJP, including former cricket player Harbhajan Singh. Additionally, “traitor” was written by demonstrators outside the Ludhiana home of rebel MP Rajinder Gupta.

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema attacked the state’s defecting MPs, accusing them of betraying the people by “bowing down” to the BJP out of fear of the CBI and ED. He stated that the people of Punjab would teach the BJP a fitting lesson in the future. Cheema asserted that Chadha’s action will not affect Punjab and that all party leaders solidly support the chief minister.

The AAP has also stated that it intends to request action against the rebel MPs under the Anti-Defection Law, noting that the MPs whose signatures were claimed to be on the document were not all present; in fact, only three MPs were actually there.

“In Punjab, all 95 of our MLAs remain united and stand with the party like a rock. No matter how hard the BJP tries, our government will not fall. The BJP is exerting pressure-relying on the power of money, hooliganism, and the Enforcement Directorate,” he said.

Ashwani Sharma, the working president of the Punjab BJP, claimed that the AAP has suffered a serious setback as a result of the MPs’ departure. He claimed that this was because of Kejriwal’s autocratic inclinations and predicted that the change would also have an impact on Punjab. Additionally, he claimed that the AAP Punjab is surviving on the strength of “borrowed” leaders, pointing out that in the most recent by-elections, it fielded candidates who joined from other parties.

Arvind Kejriwal is being abandoned by members of the “India Against Corruption” movement, according to Tarun Chugh, National General Secretary of the BJP.

“Be it Ashutosh, Shazia Ilmi, Kiran Bedi, or Kumar Vishwas, the list is long, all of them have parted ways with Kejriwal,” he said, alleging that the AAP is engaged in organised corruption and has paralysed the administrative system.

Responding to questions regarding a potential split among AAP MLAs in Punjab, Chugh declared that the people of Punjab have already made up their minds: “Goodbye, Kejriwal; Goodbye, Bhagwant Mann.”

Haryana BJP’s Saini, meanwhile, dismissed Chadha’s move as part of any “Operation Lotus”, or a concerted to move to break other parties. He argued that in Punjab, there were grand promises and lofty claims, yet not one has been fulfilled.

He claimed that despite promises to eradicate drug addiction, drug misuse has only gotten worse and that Punjab’s young people are still stuck in the maze of addiction while also having no job options. In response to the question of if Punjabi MLAs are also in contact with the BJP, he said that both the public and the MLAs are keen to get rid of the AAP.