Chandigarh: Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa Monday claimed that 32 AAP MLAs were in touch with him to switch sides. Hitting back, the ruling AAP’s state unit president Aman Arora claimed that it was Bajwa who made an “advance booking” to join the BJP.
Speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly, Bajwa also claimed that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was in touch with the BJP. “When (Arvind) Kejriwal decides to remove him, he (Mann) will pack his bags and join them (BJP),” he claimed.
The leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly asserted that in his 45 years of political experience, he has never made any wrong statement. “We had earlier said the Congress does not have any intention to topple this (AAP) government,” he said.
“I am saying this again, 32 MLAs are in touch with me. Not only MLAs, but even ministers are in touch with me. Aman Arora is also aware of this matter,” claimed Bajwa.
“They (AAP MLAs) all know that this is their last term. They are looking for new parties to get tickets. I am in touch with them (32 MLAs). We will see who is to be brought in, who is likely to win the polls and who is not. It will happen at an appropriate time.”
Lashing out at Mann, the Qadian MLA claimed that the chief minister remained “absent” from the House on the first day of the two-day session of the Punjab Assembly, which began here on Monday.
Cabinet Minister Arora slammed Bajwa for his claims and alleged that it was the leader of the opposition who would join the BJP. “Bajwa Ji’s joining the BJP is almost certain. He has already made his advance booking with the BJP,” he said in a post on X.
Arora said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should ask Bajwa what he was doing in Bengaluru a few days ago and which senior BJP leaders he met.
Later in a statement, Arora lashed out at Bajwa, alleging that the Qadian MLA switching over to the BJP is almost certain. The AAP leader accused Bajwa of betraying the people’s mandate and focusing solely on his personal ambitions.
“Partap Bajwa has already secured his advance booking with the BJP. I urge Rahul Gandhi to question Bajwa what was he doing in Bengaluru recently and which senior BJP leaders he met there?” Arora posed.
“It’s clear that his script is prepared in the BJP’s offices, much like his brother who already joined the BJP,” he alleged.
Dubbing the leader of the Opposition’s allegations against the AAP government baseless, Arora said, “Bajwa is spreading rumours and indulging in frivolous statements that hold no merit. The Congress leader doesn’t even know the whereabouts of his own MLAs. He lost Sandeep Jakhar to the BJP and yet he talks about destabilizing our government. His claims are laughable and lack any factual basis.”
Arora dismissed Bajwa’s threats to destabilize the AAP government as ludicrous.
“The AAP government in Punjab has 94 MLAs. Even if Bajwa’s imaginary tally of 32 MLAs were subtracted, we would still have 62 legislators -- a comfortable majority.
“On the other hand, 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 is operating under,” the Punjab minister added.
Arora advised Bajwa to focus on managing his own party, which is grappling with “internal chaos”.
“The Congress party is in complete disarray. Every MLA there aspires to be a chief minister or party president. Bajwa should spend his energy saving his own sinking ship instead of peddling baseless rumours about our government.”
“Our government is committed to serving the people of Punjab and will continue to deliver on its promises. We are here for the long haul and will return with an even stronger mandate in 2027. The people of Punjab recognise our good governance,” he claimed.