Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to meet President Murmu on May 5 after 7 AAP MPs join BJP

CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said he will meet President Droupadi Murmu on May 5 regarding the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs with the Bharatiya Janata Party.Mann said the President has given him an appointment at noon and he will raise the issue of recalling the MPs who switched sides. He had earlier sought time to meet her along with party MLAs to press for their “recall.”The development follows a major setback for the Aam Aadmi Party on April 24, when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs — including Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal — quit and merged with the Bharatiya Janata Party, citing deviation from party principles.Six of the seven MPs who left were from Punjab. The merger was formally accepted by Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan, reducing AAP’s strength in the Upper House to three.(With PTI inputs)