AAP's Sanjay Singh alleges Centre forced 7 MPs to merge with BJP

AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the Centre of threatening seven party MPs to join the BJP. Following the merger, which reduced AAP's Rajya Sabha strength to three, Singh has petitioned the Chairman for their disqualification under anti-defection laws.

Sanjay Singh accuses Centre of threatening MPs

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Monday accused the Centre of threatening the seven MPs, including Ashok Mittal, into merging with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Singh expressed hope in a favourable decision for AAP when Rajya Sabha chairman CP Radhakrishnan takes up his petition to disqualify the seven MPs who switched to the BJP.

The AAP MP said, "ED raided Ashok Mittal, and the BJP called him corrupt. They would have similarly intimidated or threatened them. This decision of the Rajya Sabha Chairman is based on the letter from the seven MPs to merge with the BJP. But when the Chairman will take congnizance of my letter, which states that the membership of these MPs should be suspended, I hope he will give his decision to protect the Constitution and democracy. We will talk more after the Chairman's decision."

Criticising Raghav Chadha, he added, "People are feeling betrayed as they are feeling that the youth leader they supported has now joined the BJP."

BJP strength in Rajya Sabha increases after merger

BJP's strength in Rajya Sabha has increased to 113 after Chairman CP Radhakrishnan approved the merger of Raghav Chadha and six other MPs who quit the AAP. Losing two-thirds of its MPs has been a big setback for the AAP, which is now reduced to a strength of three members in the Upper House of Parliament.

The trio of MPs--Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal--parted ways with the AAP on Friday and subsequently joined the BJP in the presence of party leadership. Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal had also switched to the BJP.

Anti-defection law loophole

Sanjay Singh had officially petitioned the Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan to disqualify seven MPs, citing anti-defection provisions in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. However, a disqualification of MPs cannot take place in case an original political party merges with another political party, given that the merger includes two-thirds of the members. The seven AAP MPs fulfilled this condition as they shook hands with the BJP.

Sanjay Singh backs Kejriwal in excise policy case

Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh also backed AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal's decision not to appear before Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma in the excise policy case. He said, "We objected that Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma's children are taking government benefits. Justice Swarna Kanta gave six decisions against us in the excise policy case, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court. Justice Swarna Kanta recused the judge on ED's request in Satyendra Jain's case. She attends RSS events. Arvind Kejriwal's decision not to appear before Justice Swarna Kanta is absolutely right."

Arvind Kejriwal had written a detailed letter to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, expressing his decision not to participate in further proceedings in the excise policy case. The letter, addressed with what Kejriwal described as "utmost respect" to both the judge and the institution of the judiciary, states that his decision is rooted not in defiance but in conscience. He emphasised that his faith in the judiciary as an institution remains intact, even as he raises apprehensions about fairness in the present case.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed Kejriwal's plea seeking the recusal of Justice Sharma. In its ruling, the court held that the allegations did not meet the legal threshold of a reasonable apprehension of bias and were based on conjecture rather than evidence. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)