SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the Punjab's AAP govt of corruption. This comes amid ED raids on an AAP MP and a separate war of words between Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP over the defection of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs to the saffron party.
SAD Chief Accuses AAP Govt of Corruption
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has accused the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of corruption. "The amount of corruption AAP has done, their system is such that they have left their men. Some people are collecting money for Arvind Kejriwal, some for Bhagwant Mann... their group has been raided... now that they have been caught, they are creating drama...," he told reporters.
"...They have to be taken inside (the jail), " he added.
In April, the Enforcement Directorate (ED conducted raids at multiple premises linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP and its Deputy Leader of the Upper House, Ashok Kumar Mittal, in connection with an alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), officials said.
War of Words over MP Defections
Meanwhile, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "robbing" the Rajya Sabha seats that rightfully belonged to the people of Punjab, following the defection of seven AAP MPs to the BJP. Kejriwal stated that AAP would seek revenge for this alleged "robbery" in the upcoming February elections.
"The seven people who have left the AAP. The BJP has committed the theft. These six Rajya Sabha seats belonged to the people of Punjab. The BJP has robbed them. We will take revenge for this in February next year," Kejriwal said earlier.
His comments came in response to BJP MP Raghav Chadha's accusations regarding the Punjab government's alleged targeting of former AAP MPs who switched sides to join the BJP. Chadha had earlier called on President Droupadi Murmu, accusing the Punjab government of misusing state machinery to intimidate the MPs and target them for exercising their constitutional rights.
7 AAP MPs Join BJP
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.
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