New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan has officially accepted the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), raising the governing party’s strength in the 245-member upper house to 113. Following this merger, AAP’s representation in the Rajya Sabha has decreased to three members.
The MPs who defected include Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Vikramjit Sahney, and Rajinder Gupta. The Rajya Sabha’s official website now lists these members as part of the BJP.
On Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced the acceptance of the merger, welcoming the new members to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. Rijiju asserted, “Welcome to nation-building NDA under PM Modi’s visionary leadership and goodbye to ‘tukde-tukde’ INDI alliance.”
In response, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who had previously appealed to Radhakrishnan to disqualify the MPs under the Constitution’s Tenth Schedule, sent another letter requesting clarification from the Rajya Sabha Secretary General regarding the basis for the alteration in party representation. Singh expressed that this change was made “without any prior intimation to or concurrence of AAP or its floor leader in the House.”
Singh warned that any arbitrary adjustments to party positions could have “serious consequences” for the rights of the party and its members. He called for an inquiry into the matter.
Meanwhile, some legal experts pointed out that the Tenth Schedule does not prevent political defections when a certain number of lawmakers agree to a merger. According to the exception outlined in paragraph four, sub-paragraph two, such a merger is considered valid if at least two-thirds of the legislature party consents.
Chadha, in a video message explaining his departure from AAP, characterized the work environment within the party as “toxic,” asserting that it has fallen into the hands of “some corrupt and compromised people” focused on personal gain.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh remarked that the only surprising aspect of the Chairman’s decision was the delay in its announcement. Ramesh noted that the BJP had previously raised questions regarding the integrity of the defected MPs but seemed to have forgotten those concerns. He added, “Lotus has become Lootus.”
