E-Paper
AAP alleges attempt to lure Punjab MLAs, targets Haryana CM Saini
Anurag Dhanda claims Haryana funds are being used to engineer defections; Saini and the Haryana BJP reject the charge.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that the BJP-led government in Haryana was attempting to destabilise the ruling party in Punjab by luring its legislators, a charge the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has rejected.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda, in a statement issued in Chandigarh, accused Saini of using “the hard-earned money” of Haryana’s people to “buy MLAs in Punjab” as part of what AAP described as “Operation Lotus”. Dhanda said the alleged efforts amounted to an attack on democratic processes and called on the Haryana government to focus on governance issues within the state instead of political activity in Punjab.
Dhanda listed unemployment, law and order, road conditions and drug abuse among the challenges he said Haryana was facing. He also claimed that sportspersons had not received diet allowances for several months, and alleged that pensions and certain welfare schemes were being reduced. The AAP leader argued that if the Haryana government had resources available, they should be deployed to address these issues.
The allegation came a day after AAP MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj from Sangrur claimed that Saini had offered her a BJP ticket for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and suggested a closed-door meeting, an allegation the chief minister denied. Speaking to reporters in Faridabad on Thursday evening, Saini said, “I don’t even know her, nor the constituency she represents.” He has described the charge as baseless.
The Haryana unit of the BJP has also denied the allegation and accused AAP of using such claims to deflect attention from governance. Haryana Chief Minister’s media secretary Praveen Attrey has said neither Saini met nor spoke to the MLA, and described the allegation as unfounded.
In his statement on Friday, Dhanda cited the Punjab government’s employment record to argue that the BJP was attempting to shift the political narrative in the state. He claimed the AAP government in Punjab had provided more than 62,000 government jobs over the past four years through a merit-based process, and said AAP legislators would not be swayed by inducements.
The exchange follows earlier political accusations in Punjab around alleged attempts to engineer defections. In 2022, AAP had alleged that some of its MLAs were approached with offers to switch sides, a claim the BJP denied at the time.
