'You have govt in one state, BJP has in 21: Raghav Chadha warns AAP of 'escalation', Bhagwant Mann hits back

CHANDIGARH: Raghav Chadha, one of the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who merged with BJP on April 24, has warned AAP-led Punjab govt against a "dirty game of vendetta" targeting the defectors. Speaking to the media after meeting President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday, Chadha claimed he could be the next target of a fabricated case.

"AAP has govt and police in one state. BJP has govts and police in 21 states. You cannot even imagine where the dirty game of vendetta you are starting will stop," said Chadha. He along with three other Rajya Sabha MPs, Sandeep Pathak, Rajinder Gupta and Ashok Mittal, sought the President's intervention in what they called "vendetta unleashed" by the AAP-led govt.





Taking potshots at his former party, Chadha said, "Till we were with you, we were very principled and obedient and when we left you, we turned wrong and corrupt." He later posted on X: "Today AAP has become a toxic outfit behaving like an obsessed, jilted ex that simply cannot move on."

His allegations drew a sharp rebuttal from Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who met the President afterwards.

At a press conference, Mann said, "Punjabis do not tolerate such threats. With love, you may even take our lives, but if someone shows arrogance or tries to arm-twist, Punjabis respond with four- or five-times greater force."

Mann said he told the President that joining the BJP does not make them above the law, or give them some protective cover. "In other states, the BJP takes in tainted or rebellious people and their cases are ended, forgiven, or they are given protection—but this will not work in Punjab. They cannot hide behind BJP here," he added.

Asked about the status of the purported FIRs against MP Pathak, Mann replied, "The law will do its work. No one is above the law—whether it is Raghav or Madhav. There should be no obstruction in the law."

Mann, who was speaking in Punjabi, added, "Chadha says he has heard from sources that now it is his turn. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. Whoever's turn comes, will come on time—but it will come legally."

Earlier, Chadha alleged "a continuous oppression of MPs started" after they snapped ties with the AAP. He said AAP workers with the help of Punjab Police branded World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh a ‘traitor', Punjab Pollution Control Board raided Rajinder Gupta's factory in the Malwa region of Punjab and fabricated FIRs were filed against MP Pathak, an IIT professor.

Chadha asked Punjab govt officials not to succumb "transfer and suspension threats". "The AAP govt will be wiped out in a few months and after which all its people will reach Delhi on Shatabdi," he said.