Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party strongly condemned the move by Raghav Chadha and six other Rajya Sabha MPs who quit the party and decided to join BJP on Friday. Accusing the BJP of launching “Operation Lotus“, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that this was a targeted attempt to “obstruct the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab”.“I want to tell Modi ji and Amit Shah that this dirty game you have played with the Aam Aadmi Party and with the people of Punjab, and the attempts you have made to stop the Bhagwant Mann government and obstruct its work, for this betrayal and deceit, the people of Punjab will never forgive you. Everyone is watching what is happening and how things are being done. Today, my heart is deeply hurt and saddened because a good government is functioning in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann is doing good work for the people there in areas like education, health, electricity, water, and providing government jobs, and yet this ‘Operation Lotus’ is being played against that government,” he said.
He further alleged that “ED and CBI” was being used to execute this “Operation Lotus”.“Our MPs are being manipulated and made to join another party. Agencies like the ED and CBI are being used. You may recall that just a few days ago there was an ED raid on Ashok Mittal, and things seem to connect, there was a raid and then he was taken away. This suggests that fear is being used and the administrative system is being misused to run ‘Operation Lotus’. I repeat, the people of Punjab will never forgive these actions,” he said.“The BJP has done the work of obstructing the good works done by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government…7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are joining the BJP, the people of Punjab should remember these 7 names. The people of Punjab will never forget them,” he added.Earlier, Chadha said that he was quitting AAP and set to “merge” with the BJP, along with Rajya Sabha MPs like Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahni.“I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options – either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience. So, we have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” said Raghav Chadha addressing a press conference.
