Chandigarh: Punjab cabinet minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president Aman Arora on Sunday launched an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following reports that two AAP legislators, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra and Chetan Singh Jouramajra, could join the saffron party.
Arora accused the BJP of trying to strengthen its position in Punjab by inducting leaders expelled from the AAP, claiming that the party lacked its own political base in the state.
In a statement, he said the AAP had always prioritised Punjab’s interests and taken action against its leaders whenever they were found involved in corruption or working against the state’s interests.
He alleged that the BJP was now gathering such expelled individuals because it had no leaders of its own and was unconcerned about Punjab’s interests.
Without naming Pathanmajra directly, Arora referred to the allegations against him, accusing the legislator of having fired at Punjab Police personnel and fled. He also mentioned the rape case registered against Pathanmajra, saying chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s government had sent him to jail.
Arora said the BJP’s reported move to induct such leaders exposed its lack of political strength in Punjab.
His remarks came amid speculation that Pathanmajra, MLA from Sanour, and Jouramajra, MLA from Samana and a former cabinet minister, had resigned from the Punjab assembly and were preparing to join the BJP. Their reported switch has not yet been formally confirmed.
