New Delhi/Punjab, May 5
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday the issue of defections in Punjab to President of India Droupadi Murmu and demanding immediate cancellation of the membership of defected Rajya Sabha MPs. Mann arrived in Delhi along with MLAs from Punjab and submitted a signed memorandum at Rashtrapati Bhavan, asserting that the dramatic rise in the BJP’s Rajya Sabha numbers despite having just two MLAs in Punjab represents a blatant distortion of the democratic mandate.
Calling the seven MPs “not elected but selected,” Mann declared their switch as a betrayal of Punjab rather than an act of political choice, challenged them to resign and seek a fresh mandate and warned that neither central agencies nor political power would shield wrongdoing, while firmly declaring that attempts like “Operation Lotus” would never succeed in a state that does not tolerate betrayal.
Sharing a few snippets from the meeting, Mann wrote on X: “Today in Delhi, before the Hon’ble President, we firmly raised our voice against the ‘murder of democracy’ taking place in the country. The unconstitutional breaking of political parties and the misuse of central agencies like the ED and CBI to cleanse tainted leaders in the BJP’s ‘washing machine’ is a direct assault on our democratic framework.”
Addressing the media after the meeting with the President, Mann said, “Murder of democracy has taken place as seven MPs of Rajya Sabha have defected. It is unconstitutional as either the entire party should have passed a resolution, but these seven MPs switched their loyalty unconstitutionally, thereby making a mockery of democracy.” He added, “The BJP has two MLAs but seven Rajya Sabha MPs, which is a joke of the Constitution of the country. These MPs should have resigned before joining the new party, which they used to condemn earlier.”
