AAP rebellion highlights: AAP to submit letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman against Raghav Chadha, others

Regarding the seven Members of Parliament from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) who have left the party to join the BJP, Anna Hazare stated that in a democracy, it is every individual's right to decide where to go and where to stay. Therefore, it is inappropriate to coerce anyone. They faced difficulties within the democratic framework, which is why they left. The fault lies with the faction and the party itself; had the faction and the party functioned correctly, they would not have departed.

On 2/3rd of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merging with and joining the BJP, BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana says, "There is huge corruption in Punjab since the formation of the AAP government...They (AAP Rajya Sabha MPs) left the party after getting frustrated..."

On 2/3 of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merging with and joining BJP, Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed says, "I am not shocked and I am not surprised. I have heard words like 'jhatka' and all. There is no 'jhatka' here. AAP was born out of the BJP and the RSS. So, all these MPs are going back to their parents. That's about it, there is nothing new in it. Let's understand, Arvind Kejriwal came about with a movement called 'India Against Corruption', accusing the Congress of corruption. We have all found out and know that they was no corruption. Supreme Court judges said in 2G that there was no scam, as well as in the coal case. So, let's understand that there were wrong accusations by him. He also accused somebody like Sonia Gandhi, whom everybody respects, of corruption and many other things. So, I would say that today is 'karma' coming back and biting Arvind Kejriwal. He will now sit in a Wagon-R and those number of MPs he will have and that's the number of people he will have in his party. He can sit in his Wagon-R and go back to wherever he came from."

AAP MP in Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh tweets, "I will submit a letter to the 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 BJP, as this is tantamount to voluntarily relinquishing membership of their original party under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution."

On 2/3 of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merging with and joining BJP, AAP's Chief National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar says, "Everyone knows that AAP has no leader in Punjab. Everyone also knows that Congress is almost finished there. So, this time, they (BJP) broke away AAP leaders. But I can tell you that Punjabis are watching that the 7 MPs who were sent to the Parliament by them have now supported a party which killed 800 farmers. BJP calls farmers terrorists, and these 7 MPs supported them today. This is no less than 'gaddari'. Public will give a reply to this..."
 

Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal meet BJP National President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters. 2/3rd MPs of AAP in the Rajya Sabha announced merging with the BJP.

In 2006, I left my job to choose the path of national service. Through the RTI movement, the Anna movement, the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, and 8 years of dedicated work in the Delhi Women's Commission, I contributed with complete honesty and devotion at every stage. With great sorrow today, I must say that the principles, values, and resolve for honest politics with which we began this journey have been abandoned by Arvind Kejriwal ji and, at his behest, the entire Aam Aadmi Party. At his residence, on his signal, I was brutally beaten and treated with utmost indecency. To protect his goon, he went to extreme lengths and rewarded him with high positions. Threats were made to ruin me, and every possible effort was made against me. Seeing the unchecked corruption growing in the Aam Aadmi Party under Kejriwal ji's patronage, incidents of harassment and assault against women, the promotion of thuggish elements, and the betrayal and looting happening with Punjab, I have decided to leave the party today. I was in Itanagar at this time for a parliamentary committee meeting. After returning to Delhi tonight, I will speak in detail on this matter. Jai Hind

Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak join BJP in presence of Nitin Nabin

Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal to join BJP shortly. 2/3rd MPs of AAP in the Rajya Sabha announced merging with the BJP.

Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal arrive at the BJP headquarters 2/3rd MPs of AAP in the Rajya Sabha announced merging with the BJP.

Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP. Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. I, along with two other MPs, personally handed over the signed documents.

BJP National President Nitin Nabin arrives at the party headquarters in Delhi after 2/3rd MPs of AAP in the Rajya Sabha announced merging with the BJP.

On 2/3rd MPs of AAP in Rajya Sabha announce merging with the BJP, Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva says, "This was natural. Some of his MPs are also coming, so we welcome them. Arvind Kejriwal has become synonymous with corruption...Money that should be spent on the people of Punjab is being used by him for his own politics in Gujarat and Goa."

How can they belong to the BJP when they couldn't even belong to the people of Punjab? At the very least, our people who joined them should have asked the JJP: "What happened?" "What happened with Naveen Patnaik?" This is a party that devours people. I am surprised that just three or four days ago, Ravneet Bittu was hurling abuses at Raghav Chadha; with what face will they talk to each other now?

They became rattled by our work, so they hatched a plan to sow discord within our party; however, we are Punjabis—and we do not forget such things. I had previously spoken on this matter in connection with Sukhpal Khaira, back when he joined the Congress party. These six or seven individuals who have defected are traitors to the party. The party is paramount; the organisation stands everything else.

First, they withheld the RDF funds; then, they attempted to poach our MLAs. Today, they have managed to poach our MPs—just as happened with Sharad Pawar.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said, “I have said this before as well that the BJP does not get along with Punjab and they try to ruin anything that is meant for Punjab.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh says, “The Bharatiya Janata Party, under Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, has launched ‘Operation Lotus’, which is being described as a game of cheap politics and an attempt to obstruct the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on a large scale.”

MP Sandeep Pathak says, "I had never thought that such a situation would ever occur in my life. But it did. I was a part of this party for 10 years. Today, I am separating my path from that of the AAP...When it came to joining a party, I joined AAP because they spoke of new politics and politics of work...In 10 years, I worked hard...All political decisions I made were taken by prioritising the party's interests...I am joining the BJP today and giving up all my positions in AAP..."

"There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha, more than 2/3rd of them are with us in this. They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman...three of them are here before you. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal."

In his first reaction, Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP has once again betrayed the people of Punjab;

On 2/3rd MPs of AAP in Rajya Sabha announce merging with the BJP, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "...Some people compromise, get scared, and join the BJP. They may have joined out of greed or fear"

Delhi: Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal leave from the Constitution Club of India after addressing a press conference. They addressed a joint press conference and announced the merger of 2/3rd MPs of AAP in Rajya Sabha with the BJP.

Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal arrive at the BJP office. They addressed a joint press conference and announced the merger of 2/3rd MPs of AAP in Rajya Sabha with the BJP.

In a big setback for the Aam Aadmi Party, three party MPs such as Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal on Friday quit the party and said that two-thirds of the party's members in Rajya Sabha had decided to "merge with the BJP".