Punjab News Daily

New Delhi, May 5

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday took the battle over defections in Punjab to the highest constitutional office, meeting the President and demanding immediate cancellation of the membership of ‘Punjab de Gaddar’ (defectors) Rajya Sabha MPs. Leading a unified show of strength, CM Bhagwant Singh 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,’ CM Bhagwant Singh 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, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated on X: “Today in Delhi, before the 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.”

“We have made it absolutely clear that the disgraceful tactics of ‘Operation Lotus’ will never succeed in Punjab. Our MLAs represent the voice of millions of Punjabis, and the people of Punjab will never tolerate betrayal. As ‘your public servant’, I assure every Punjabi that we will fight till our last breath to protect the people’s mandate and uphold constitutional values,” the post concluded.

Addressing the media after the meeting with the President, CM Bhagwant Singh 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.”

Raising the demand for systemic reform, the Chief Minister asserted, “An amendment should be made in the Constitution for making provision of recall, as Raghav Chadha had been demanding, so that these MPs can be punished for treachery.”

He asserted, “Punjabis don’t tolerate such backstabbing and they will be punished by the people of the state. These leaders are now baffled due to which they are making illogical statements.” He further stated, “Joining BJP doesn’t mean that these leaders can’t be booked for their misdeeds. Even if more reports come regarding their sins, they will definitely be booked in the future too.”

Taking a firm position on accountability, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “The shield of BJP can save them from gallows of law in other states but not in Punjab. These leaders should refrain from threatening Punjabis as they will bounce back and show them their real position.” He added, “These selected leaders elected by the representatives of the people should be dismissed from the House for backstabbing the people of the state.” He remarked, “The BJP is violating the Constitution of the country by misuse of central agencies. It is ironic that the same Ashok Mittal was provided Z plus security by the BJP whose premises were raided by ED a few days back.”