Mann seeks recall of AAP defectors; Chadha alleges vendetta politics during meetings with President Murmu

In a post after the meeting, Chadha criticized the party that cried vendetta, saying it now practices its most toxic form, and asserted that constitutional rights and democratic choices must be respected.

During their march to Delhi, MLAs carried placards with photos of the rebel MPs calling them 'traitors of Punjab'.

AAP Punjab in-charge Aman Arora stated that all MLAs travelled to Delhi to expose the defectors and to demonstrate complete discipline and unity; he noted the party has 94 MLAs in Punjab and that most MLAs accompanied Mann.

Mann said that joining the BJP does not provide a 'suraksha kavach' or immunity from FIRs and legal action, and asserted that future complaints would lead to action against the defectors.

Mann described the defections as a 'murder of democracy' and a breach of the Constitution, questioning how six to seven MPs could split and merge; he called for a constitutional provision to recall MPs and stated Punjab will not tolerate betrayal.

Mann met President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 12 noon and submitted a representation signed by his ministers and MLAs seeking action against six of the seven defectors.

Chadha and three other rebel MPs — Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal and Rajinder Gupta — met President Droupadi Murmu to allege vendetta politics by the Punjab government and to present concerns about harassment after exiting the AAP.

Ahead of Mann’s meeting with the President, the Ministers and MLAs accompanying him were stopped near Rail Bhavan.

Mann, accompanied by most AAP MLAs, traveled from Chandigarh to Delhi in his official vehicle while ministers and MLAs followed in three buses. They carried placards bearing photographs of the rebel MPs, calling them 'traitors of Punjab'.

Seven Rajya Sabha MPs, two-thirds of AAP's Punjab-Delhi contingent in the Upper House, defected to the BJP on April 24. The defectors are Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney (all Punjab) and Swati Maliwal (Delhi).