‘Gaddars…will vanish into political oblivion’: Mann slams AAP MPs who jumped ship

AAP’s Rajya Sabha members Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Friday announced that they are joining the BJP along with four other MPs of the party. The others include Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Bikram Singh Sahney, and Rajinder Gupta.

Mann, who reached Chandigarh on Friday morning after abruptly canceling his Finland visit midway, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of systematically trying to destabilise his government by engineering defections and misusing central agencies.

Addressing a press conference, Mann also claimed that ever since the strict law against ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) was enacted, the BJP’s unease has been evident as it struggles to accept decisive action on an issue deeply tied to Punjab’s sentiments.

He also accused the BJP of using central agencies to intimidate opponents, citing recent ED action against industrialist-turned-politician Ashok Mittal as an example. “When they could not find anything against Bhagwant Mann, they started breaking his people,” he said.

“They (BJP) cannot digest why Punjab is becoming ‘rangla’ (vibrant) and progressing, so they decide to break the party. (Union Minister) Amit Shah must not have liked it that there is no alternative to Bhagwant Mann. People of Punjab are with the Aam Aadmi Party,” Mann said.

Mann further accused the BJP of being hostile to Punjab and Punjabis, claiming the Centre stalled Rural Development Fund (RDF) dues after the AAP came to power and attempted to poach MLAs. He also linked the alleged hostility to the rollback of the three farm laws, saying the BJP leadership “does not like Punjab” since it was forced into a U-turn.

The CM said the BJP had deployed its “washing machine” — a term often used by Opposition parties to allege that leaders facing scrutiny get relief after joining the BJP — in Punjab as well. He asserted that the BJP’s political strategy across the country has been to weaken regional forces.

“The BJP only knows how to break other parties because it lacks credible leadership. They tried to break Mamata Banerjee’s party, divided Uddhav Thackeray’s party, and Sharad Pawar’s party also met the same fate. Leaders like Naveen Patnaik, Dushyant Chautala and Nitish Kumar have also been targeted through similar manoeuvres. The outfit with whom they ally, they gobble up that party. Yeh Bande Khani Party hai,” he said, adding that defectors eventually lose relevance within the BJP.

“Where is Capt Amarinder Singh, Manpreet Singh Badal? Does one hear about these leaders who joined the BJP (from Congress),” Mann asked, adding even Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu will be sidelined the day the BJP comes to know he holds no sway in the state. “Actually, BJP is not a party of the people, but of rejected leaders,” he added.

Taking a swipe at Chadha, Mann said he had been given significant opportunities, from heading the Delhi Jal Board to being sent to the Rajya Sabha but had “hobnobbed” with Amit Shah. He mocked claims of dissent, saying leaders often cite “suffocation” only after switching sides.

He further said that BJP is rattled by the work that the AAP government has done. “We did those works which they cannot do in history, including giving 300 units free power per month, eight hours uninterrupted power to the farm sector… giving more than 65,000 government jobs, passing a historic bill against sacrilege,” he said.

Mann reiterated that AAP remained united and resilient. “AAP is like a rock. Four-five people leaving cannot break a party of lakhs,” he said, adding that the party was born out of an “Inquilab” (revolutionary) idea led by Arvind Kejriwal.