'They won't get anything in BJP': Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann slams rebel AAP MPs, calls them 'traitors'

New Delhi: Seven Rajya Sabha MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party—including Raghav Chadha—are reportedly leaving the party to join the BJP. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, having returned from an overseas tour, held a press conference in Chandigarh and took aim at the BJP. Launching a scathing attack, he alleged that the BJP shares absolutely no rapport with Punjabis and has betrayed the people of Punjab.

What did Bhagwant Mann say?

Bhagwant Mann alleged that the BJP is using central agencies - specifically the ED and CBI - to intimidate Aam Aadmi Party leaders and is orchestrating "Operation Lotus" to destabilize the Punjab government. He remarked that the BJP lacks a credible face in Punjab and that the party's "washing machine" is currently operational in the state. He declared that the BJP cannot win in Punjab. Labeling the seven MPs who quit the AAP as "traitors," he stated that they would gain absolutely nothing by joining the BJP.

Commenting on the seven Rajya Sabha MPs leaving the Aam Aadmi Party to join the BJP, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann emphasized that the party—and the organization—is always greater than the individual. He asserted that these seven individuals who have departed did so by betraying the people of Punjab. He noted that while they were here, they received their positions without ever having to solicit a single vote from the public.

He argued that they have now defected not to further their political careers, but merely to save their own skins; however, he predicted that they would find no salvation there either. He warned that they would simply be used and then discarded there as well. He cited examples, noting that no one listens to Captain Amarinder Singh anymore, and that the plight of Jyotiraditya Scindia is also evident to everyone.

What did Bhagwant Mann say about BJP?

He further stated that the BJP had committed acts of betrayal during the farmers' protest movement as well. He argued that they are now inducting AAP MPs into their fold because they lack any strong grassroots base of their own in Punjab. He challenged them to answer, "what, exactly, is the alternative to the Bhagwant Mann government?"

Mann asserted that the BJP is intimidated by the work being undertaken by his government. He surmised that they must have commissioned internal surveys which revealed that their standing in the state is far from strong; hence, the attempt to fracture his party. He concluded by noting that while Punjabis love wholeheartedly, if anyone betrays them, they remember that betrayal for generations to come. 

Bhagwant Mann stated, "I condemn this in the strongest possible terms. Amit Shah likely did not appreciate the fact that there is no alternative to Bhagwant Mann. Just three or four days ago, Ravneet Bittu was hurling abuses at Raghav Chadha; how, then, can they possibly meet now?"