Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Monday wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, questioning the alteration of party position in Upper House records with being notified as the floor leader. Raghav Chadha and six others have already been tagged as BJP's in the record, less than a week after they switched sides.
In a letter addressed to the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, Sanjay Singh sought immediate clarification regarding the alleged unauthorised alteration.
He pointed out that, according to the records, the current status of the party and its Floor Leader seems to have been modified without his knowledge. "On what date and on what basis has the party position of the Aam Aadmi Party been altered in the records and publications of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat?" Singh wrote.
Chadha and others have claimed they can legally “merge” into the BJP as they hold the required two-thirds strength of the AAP's RS members for such a move. The AAP has sought to raise legal questions, though, and may go to court.
{{/usCountry}}Chadha and others have claimed they can legally “merge” into the BJP as they hold the required two-thirds strength of the AAP's RS members for such a move. The AAP has sought to raise legal questions, though, and may go to court.
{{/usCountry}}In his letter, Sanjay Singh further claimed that the Rajya Sabha Secretariat made no communication to him in his capacity as Floor Leader.
"It may be pertinent to state that any arbitrary or unexplained alteration in the party position, without following the due procedure, would have serious consequences on the rights of the party and its Members and raises grave questions of procedural irregularity. You are therefore requested to urgently intervene and address the above-stated queries at the earliest," Singh mentioned.
He also called for an inquiry into these alleged altercations of party records.
The big AAP switch
The development of altering party position comes after the BJP's strength in the Rajya Sabha increased to 113 as House Chairman CP Radhakrishnan approved the merger of former AAP deputy leader in the House, Raghav Chadha, and six other MPs who quit the party.
Six of the seven MPs were elected from Punjab, while one was from Delhi. This has come as a major setback for the party, which is currently in power in Punjab and ruled Delhi until just over a year ago, as its total strength in the Rajya Sabha has now fallen to 3 from 10 earlier. The exodus of 70 per cent of its members has caused problems for AAP in terms of perception and stability.
The trio of MPs: Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, all elected by Punjab MLAs, parted ways with the AAP on Friday and subsequently joined the BJP in the presence of the saffron party’s leadership.
Four others, including Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney from Punjab; and Swati Maliwal from Delhi, have also switched to the BJP.