"Bowed down before BJP, betrayed people of Punjab": Manish Sisodia after AAP MPs split ranks in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi [India], April 24 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Friday slammed the Rajya Sabha MPs who have decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), branding them "traitors" who have bartered the "blood and sweat" of Punjab's workers for personal gain.

In an X post, Sisodia claimed that while thousands of AAP workers were enduring "threats" from the BJP, to strengthen the party's ideology, these members "struck a deal" out of fear and greed.

"I've been in Gujarat for three days now... At a time when thousands of workers in Gujarat are risking their lives, enduring all dangers and the BJP's threats, and toiling blood and sweat to strengthen the party's ideology, it is precisely then that some traitors have struck a deal with the hard-earned blood and sweat of Punjab's workers. Those Rajya Sabha members who have bowed down before the BJP today, who have betrayed the people of Punjab due to their personal compulsions, fear, and greed, should know that Punjab never forgives traitors," the post said.

This comes after three MPs - Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal announced a split in AAP and said that two-thirds of the party's members in Rajya Sabha had decided to "merge with the BJP".

"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," Raghav Chadha said at a press conference, which was also attended by Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.

Answering queries, Raghav Chadha said that AAP has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha and seven of them have decided to leave the party and merge with BJP.

"I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options - either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years, or we do positive politics with our energy and experience," he said.

The MPs merging with the BJP consist of Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal. Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, and Rajinder Gupta. Among them, many MPs are Punjab-based, leading to pushback from AAP.

Meanwhile, Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal joined the BJP after severing ties with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

In a brief post on X, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal also slammed the BJP, alleging that the ruling party at the Centre has "shoved" the people of Punjab.

"BJP ne fir se Punjabio ke sath kia dhakka' (The BJP has once again given Punjabis a shove)", he wrote on X.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also lashed out at the MPs, labelling them "traitors" to the people of Punjab.

Escalating his attack, Singh dismissed the MPs' justification for the split. He characterised the BJP as a party that has "backstabbed" farmers and the people of Punjab, adding, "You will go with them to bring change and revolution. Who will believe such a thing?".

Echoing these sentiments, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said, "The seven MPs who are joining the BJP don't represent Punjab, they are traitors," further stating that they would not get benefits in the BJP as well.

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