Punjab CM leaves for Delhi, will meet President Murmu to raise issue of AAP MPs moving to BJP

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 5 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is visiting Delhi on Tuesday to meet President Droupadi Murmu and raise the issue of the seven previously AAP MPs shifting to the BJP, expressing confidence that she would listen to him while describing her as the "guardian of India's constitution."

CM Mann left for his meeting with President Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital later in the day. He will raise the issue of the recent "merger" of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs into BJP, which included the likes of Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.

The Chief Minister will be accompanied by AAP MLAs to New Delhi; however, the invitation by the Rashtrapati Bhavan has only been extended to Bhagwant Mann. The convoy of CM Mann and other MLAs is heading towards the national capital to meet President Murmu.

"I think that the President will listen to us. The President is the guardian of the Constitution; she is the constitutional head of the country," CM Mann told reporters.

Punjab Minister Aman Arora said that the state government demands the revocation of the recognition of all AAP MPs which merged into BJP.

"The people of Punjab had placed their trust in some people through our MLAs, but they have now eroded their trust and left. They should be called back, their recognition should be revoked; this is our demand... I don't think Punjab will be such an easy state for the BJP... I don't think the people of Punjab will give any support to the BJP at all," Arora told ANI.

Another Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema called the step a "BJP tactics to break country's democracy," adding that all the 95 AAP MLAs from the state would meet President Murmu.

"All 95 MLAs of the AAP are going to meet the President of India. We will request her to exercise the powers given to her by the Constitution. The concept of recall should be exercised here... The BJP's attempt to break the democracy of the country, the attack on the democracy of the country, which the BJP has called, I believe that only Punjab can stop it, and Punjab will fight to restore this democracy," he said.

AAP MLA Vijay Singla dismissed the rumours of his party MLAs moving to any other political bloc, stating that protesting against the seven Rajya Sabha MPs is their democratic right.

"There is no question of any show of strength, there is no question of any connection. I think there is not even 1% truth that any of our MLAs are going here or there. These are total rumours; there is no truth in them. But protesting against those who have left the Rajya Sabha is our right in a democracy. The President, who is the first citizen of the country... All of us MLAs under the leadership of the Chief Minister are going to put forward our point of view," said Singla.

Apart from Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, BJP MP Raghav Chadha is also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu, where he is likely to raise the issue of alleged targeting of AAP MPs merging with BJP in Punjab.

The trio of MPs - Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal - parted ways with the AAP last month and subsequently joined the BJP in the presence of party leadership. Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal had also switched to the BJP.

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