May 5 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday to raise the issue of what he described as “illegal” and “unlawful defection” by seven Rajya Sabha MPs, including six from Punjab, while asserting that such “actions amount to a betrayal of the people’s mandate”.

Chief Minister Mann earlier told the media that they have received confirmation from the Rashtrapati Bhawan and on Tuesday (May 5) “we will meet the President of India to raise the issue of illegal and unlawful defection by seven Rajya Sabha MPs”.

These MPs who have disrespected the mandate of the people deserve no mercy as they are the traitors of Punjab and Punjabis, he said.

As of April 2026, seven Rajya Sabha MPs, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Vikram Sahney, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta, have defected from the Aam Aadmi Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party, dealing a major blow to the AAP as its strength in the Upper House plunged from 10 to just 3.

The Chief Minister added, “Those who are terming this defection as the order of the day or a tradition are justifying a grave disregard for the people’s verdict. This is unacceptable, and those speaking in such a manner appear to be preparing to shift their allegiance.”

Reaffirming the strength of the Punjab government, Chief Minister Mann said the state government “enjoys full confidence both inside and outside the Vidhan Sabha, making any demand for a floor test unnecessary”.

“The Budget has been passed smoothly, and every single small or big bill passes the floor test, which clearly reflects that the government is in an absolute majority in the House,” he added.

Taking aim at his critics, Chief Minister Mann added, “Those questioning the rationale of convening the Vidhan Sabha session must first answer for the guarantees fulfilled by the Narendra Modi government before raising questions about us.”

–IANS

rs/