Punjab LoP says 32 AAP MLAs in touch; ruling party calls him ‘delusional’

Congress leader claims 32 AAP MLAs in touch, triggering war of words; AAP accuses him of spreading rumors.

Ahead of the special session of the Punjab Assembly on Monday, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa reiterated that 32 MLAs from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were in touch. His statement triggered a war of words between the Punjab Congress and AAP.

“Thirty-two MLAs from AAP have in touch with the Punjab Congress to join the party. However, this is not the right time to disclose their names. They will be disclosed at the right time,” Mr. Bajwa told media persons outside the Assembly.

He also claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was in touch with the BJP. “When [AAP national convener Arvind] Kejriwal decides to remove him, he will pack his bags and join them [BJP],” he said.

The Leader of the Opposition asserted that in his 45 years in politics, he has never made any wrong statement. “We had earlier said the Congress does not have any intention to topple this government,” he said.

Hitting back, Punjab AAP unit chief Aman Arora accused the Congress leader of spreading rumours and indulging in frivolous statements. “He doesn’t even know the whereabouts of his own MLAs – he lost Sandeep Jakhar to the BJP, and yet talks about destabilising our government. His claims are laughable and lack any factual basis,” Mr. Arora said.

Stressing that AAP has 94 MLAs in Punjab, he said even if Mr. Bajwa’s “imaginary tally” of 32 MLAs were to be subtracted, the ruling party would still have 62 MLAs, a comfortable majority. “Bajwa’s Congress has just 15 MLAs. If you add another 32 to his count, they still wouldn’t be able to form a government. This shows the level of desperation and delusion he’s operating under,” said the AAP leader, alleged that in fact, the Congress leader is headed for the BJP.

“Pratap Bajwa has already secured his advance booking with the BJP. I urge [Congress leader] Rahul Gandhi to question Bajwa about what he was doing in Bengaluru recently and which senior BJP leaders he met there,” said Mr. Arora.