Chandigarh: Former Punjab deputy chief minister and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Monday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were acting in tandem to undermine the state's mandate, calling it a 'betrayal' of Punjab.
He claimed that what the BJP 'could not achieve directly' in the state had been facilitated through its 'B-team', AAP, and urged people to remain vigilant against such 'political manoeuvres'.
Randhawa alleged that the defection of six AAP Rajya Sabha members to the BJP was part of a 'calculated conspiracy'. He said the BJP, which secured only 6.6% votes in the 2022 assembly polls, could not expand directly and instead gained representation through defections.
Claiming the BJP now holds 85.7% representation from Punjab in the Rajya Sabha, he termed the development a 'serious concern for democratic values'.
The Congress leader further stated that this collusion between the two parties is a direct attack on the people's mandate, as expressed in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. He called upon the citizens of Punjab to stay alert and protect the democratic process from such political conspiracies.
