New Delhi, 24 April (H.S.):

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has branded the joining of seven Rajya Sabha MPs, led by Raghav Chadha, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as Operation Lotus, describing it as a betrayal of Punjab's people.

AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, during a press conference at the party headquarters here on Friday, accused the BJP of using fear and the administrative machinery to lure party leaders into its fold. He claimed that alarmed by the effective governance of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's administration, the BJP sought to weaken his party.

Sanjay Singh named each of the seven MPs one by one, highlighting how the party had elevated them from obscurity to prominence, only for them to betray both AAP and Punjab. He asserted that the people of Punjab would never forgive them. He further noted that an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid had recently been conducted at Ashok Mittal's premises, after which the BJP intimidated him into joining their ranks.

Notably, Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal held a press conference at the Constitution Club today, announcing their joining the BJP along with the other four members.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar