PUNJAB POLITICS HEATS UP: The Shiromani Akali Dal unleashed a blistering attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Saturday, dismissing his planned audience with President Droupadi Murmu over defected Rajya Sabha MPs as a blatant ‘political drama’ ahead of potential polls.
At the heart of the row: Mann’s push to disqualify seven AAP MPs who ditched the party for BJP. SAD’s Daljit Singh Cheema laid bare the legal futility, citing the 10th Schedule. ‘Parliament holds the reins on defection cases, not the President,’ he asserted. Moreover, with two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha strength switching sides en masse, the law explicitly bars any disqualification.
Cheema flipped the script, spotlighting AAP’s hypocrisy. ‘You greenlit an SAD MLA’s defection and handed him a plum job,’ he accused Mann. ‘Now, explain nominating wealthy non-Punjabis to represent the state over genuine locals.’
The SAD leader demanded true accountability: Why not empower voters to recall underperforming MLAs? ‘Your principles seem cherry-picked,’ he jabbed. Instead of symbolic gestures, Cheema advised AAP to petition the Governor for fresh elections—a real test of public faith.
This comes hot on the heels of defections by high-profile names like Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh, and Swati Maliwal (the lone non-Punjab rep among them). Mann’s delegation of AAP MLAs to the President signals desperation amid eroding upper house influence.
As accusations fly, the episode exposes AAP’s vulnerabilities post its Punjab sweep. SAD positions itself as the constitutional guardian, urging a return to electoral basics. Punjab watchers see this as the opening salvo in a larger pre-election chess game, where defections could reshape alliances and voter sentiments alike.
