Chandigarh, April 28
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been speaking on every issue but has maintained silence on allegations made by Raghav Chadha and other leaders accusing the Aam Aadmi Party of compromising its principles and being corrupt. This was stated by Bharatiya Janata Party’s Working State President Ashwani Sharma, who was addressing a press conference today along with State Secretary Sanjeev Khanna, Kanwarveer Singh Tohra and State Media Head Vineet Joshi.
During the press conference, he also hit back at AAP for calling Rajya Sabha MPs “traitors.” Sharma said that those being labeled as traitors are known for their hard work and achievements and have brought global recognition to Punjab and Punjabis. In this context, he mentioned prominent names like Rajinder Gupta, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh and Vikramjit Singh Sahney, highlighting their contributions in industry, education, sports, and social service.
Sharma further said that if changing parties is considered “betrayal,” then Bhagwant Mann himself is a traitor for having switched parties. He added that members of his cabinet who came from other parties—Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Aman Arora, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Tarunpreet Singh Sondh, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Lal Chand Kataruchak, among others—would also fall under the same category. Similarly, those who joined AAP from other parties and contested assembly by-elections—Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Ishank Kumar, and Mohinder Bhagat—would also be termed traitors.
Several AAP founders and senior leaders such as Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Kumar Vishwas, and Alka Lamba had raised serious questions about Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, the party’s policies, and its credibility while leaving the party. Sharma said that the same concerns are now being raised by Rajya Sabha MPs, but no response has been given so far. In conclusion, Sharma said that the Aam Aadmi Party and Bhagwant Mann should respond to the allegations against it and clarify its position before the people of Punjab.
