RS defections: CM seeks Prez meet, AAP to seek their MPs’ disqualification

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday escalated its response to the defection of seven Rajya Sabha MPs. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said he would seek a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu for their recall, while party MP Sanjay Singh said the party will seek their disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law.Mann said he would lead a delegation of AAP MLAs to present the party's case, terming the defections a "betrayal of the mandate". Six of the seven MPs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta and Vikramjit Sahney — are from Punjab, while Swati Maliwal represents Delhi.The party said it would argue before the President that switching sides undermined the democratic process and warranted a constitutional precedent for removing members who abandoned the party under whose ticket they entered the Upper House.In Delhi, Sanjay Singh said the party will write to the Rajya Sabha chairman and the Vice-President, seeking the termination of the MPs' membership under the Tenth Schedule. "On Friday, seven individuals announced their decision to join the BJP in a manner that was unconstitutional, illegal and against the rules," Sanjay Singh said. "It has no legal recognition, and this was also clearly established in the Shiv Sena case."He added, "The defection of these seven Rajya Sabha MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party is entirely illegal, incorrect, unconstitutional and against parliamentary rules," asserting that "no form of split is permissible" and even a two-thirds breakaway "has no legal validity".Sanjay Singh said he would submit a detailed letter citing these provisions and seek "complete termination of the membership of all seven MPs", adding that three — Chadha, Pathak and Mittal — "clearly went to the BJP office", while action would also be sought against the remaining four.the chief minister took a swipe at the BJP, claiming the party remains a non-entity in Punjab with only two legislators. He argued that because the BJP has no local support in the state, it is forced to "import" leaders from other parties to maintain a semblance of presence. He claimed that the BJP, unable to find any grounds to target him personally, resorted to misuse of the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI to intimidate AAP leaders.TWO SIGNATURES ‘FORGED': AAPPunjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema claimed the seven MPs cannot escape the anti-defection law, alleging discrepancies in the defection letter. "Rajinder Gupta is getting treated for bypass surgery abroad and Swati Maliwal has not mentioned in her social media post on Friday that she signed the letter submitted by Raghav Chadha. We are confident the Vice-President will take a decision as per the Constitution and these MPs will be disqualified," he said. "Two of these signatures may have been forged or fabricated to claim that two-thirds of the MPs are switching sides."WAS'NT IN TOUCH WITH OTHER MPs: SEECHEWALBalbir Singh Seechewal, the sole AAP MP representing Punjab in the Rajya Sabha, clarified he was never approached by the BJP or any other party. He confirmed he had had no contact with Raghav Chadha or the other six defectors. "Chadha had once invited me for tea while coming out (of Parliament) but I did not meet him," he said.