AAP sends petition to Rajya Sabha Chair to terminate 7 MPs who moved to BJP | India News
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party has appealed to Rajya Sabha Chairman, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan to dismiss all 7 MPs who have quit and joined. Bharatiya Janata PartyThe leader said Sanjay Singh sundayHe said the AAP had consulted constitutional experts, including senior lawyer Kapil Sibal and former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achari, who opined that MPs were “liable for disqualification under the law”.The political crisis within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) deepened on Friday after seven Rajya Sabha MPs announced they were leaving the party, triggering a fierce legal and political dispute over the legality of the move and its implications under anti-defection rules.Among the MPs named in the controversy are Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Swati Maliwal and Vikramjit Sahni. Chadha suggested moving away from “frustration, alienation and disgust” within the party, while Sawhney cited governance concerns in Punjab, including debt pressures, agrarian problems and drug abuse, as well as lack of access to leadership.Party insiders say the leadership was aware of potential defections and made last-minute efforts to prevent at least some MPs from defecting amid claims of political pressure and internal discontent.Earlier reports said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mannalso sought time to press President Draupadi Murmu and party legislators to “withdraw” MPs, even though the Constitution does not provide for any recall process for MPs or state legislators.AAP has strongly contested the development. Earlier, Sanjay Singh cited the Tenth Schedule, asserting that deviations of this nature are not legally valid and should lead to disqualification proceedings.But legal opinion remains divided. While AAP leaders argue that any such split is unconstitutional, many experts note that the anti-defection law allows for mergers if two-thirds of the legislative party supports them, raising questions about whether the move would actually attract disqualification.Singh also dismissed reports that Punjab MLAs were in touch with Raghav Chadha, calling it “false propaganda” aimed at creating confusion. He alleged that such narratives were being propagated by the BJP and others and claimed that the leaders in question were facing public backlash in Punjab. Singh said people were protesting against them and their political standing was weakened, adding that with their “membership about to end” there was little chance of an MLA joining them.
