Amid political turbulence following the defection of seven Rajya Sabha MPs to the BJP, the AAP government on Friday moved a Confidence Motion in the Punjab Assembly.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann introduced the Confidence Motion, stating that the AAP government remains stable and the party continues to expand its political presence.
Addressing the House, Mann said rumours were being spread that AAP would collapse and its MLAs would switch sides. He said such speculation was aimed at creating confusion among the people and weakening public confidence in the government.
“The party is strong,” Mann said, highlighting AAP’s presence across several states. He pointed out that the party has an MLA in Doda in Jammu and Kashmir, runs a successful government in Punjab, and currently sits in the opposition in Delhi. He also mentioned that AAP has five MLAs in Gujarat and two in Goa.
Mann added that the party’s organisational strength extends beyond legislatures, with mayors, councillors and sarpanches representing AAP in different parts of the country, reflecting its growing national footprint.
Ahead of the session, the ruling party had issued a whip directing all its legislators to remain present in the Assembly for the day’s proceedings. In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, AAP holds a commanding majority with 94 MLAs. The Congress has 16 members, while the BSP has one, the Shiromani Akali Dal three, the BJP two, and one member sits as an Independent.
AAP recently faced a major setback when seven of its ten Rajya Sabha MPs — Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal — resigned from the party on April 24 and joined the BJP, alleging that AAP had drifted away from its founding principles and values. Six of the MPs who quit were from Punjab.
Rajya Sabha Chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan later accepted the merger of the MPs with the BJP, reducing AAP’s strength in the Upper House to three members.
Also read: Mann, Khaira clash triggers uproar in Assembly
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