Is joining BJP above the law? Punjab CM Mann asks ahead of Murmu meet

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann will meet President Murmu to discuss 7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs joining the BJP. Mann questioned if joining the BJP puts one "above the law" and said he would demand the cancellation of their memberships.

Ahead of his meeting with President Droupadi Murmu in the national capital, later in the day, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday asked whether any person can become "above the law" if it joins BJP. CM Mann will be meeting President Murmu and raise the issue of the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs moving to the BJP.

The Chief Minister stressed the law is supreme in every matter, adding that he will apprise the President about the developments of the whole issue. "There should be a law; otherwise, five people from a party will claim that they are a different party. Can someone be above the law after joining the BJP? The law is supreme. I will inform the President and apprise her about everything," CM Mann told reporters. The Punjab Chief Minister is enroute to New Delhi along with other AAP Punjab MLAs to meet President Murmu. However, the Rashtrapati Bhavan has only extended an invitation to CM Mann for meeting with the President.

AAP Ministers Demand Cancellation of Memberships

Speaking on the issue, Punjab Minister Lal Chand Kataruchakk stated that the BJP is scared ahead of the meeting, adding that the AAP would show the nation how to fight against the BJP. "We will demand the cancellation of the membership of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who joined the BJP...Punjab will not get scared...We will show the nation how to fight against the BJP," he told ANI.

Another Punjab Minister, Hardeep Singh Mundian, informed that CM Mann would demand the cancellation of Rajya Sabha membership of all leaders who merged with BJP, adding that Raghav Chadha would also meet with the President for doing "drama." "We will demand the cancellation of the membership of the AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who joined the BJP...Raghav Chadha is also going to meet the President to do drama," Mundian told ANI.

Defected MPs and Counter-Allegations

Notably, BJP MP Raghav Chadha is also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu, where he is likely to raise the issue of alleged targeting of AAP MPs merging with BJP in Punjab.

The trio of MPs - Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal - parted ways with the AAP last month 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. (ANI)

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