AAP MPs' merger with BJP Punjab CM to meet president on May 5

Chandigarh, May 4 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will meet President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday in connection with the recent defection of seven Rajya Sabha MPs into the BJP.
     Mann had earlier sought an appointment with the president for a meeting along with the party MLAs to demand the "recall" of the Rajya Sabha MPs who quit the AAP and joined the BJP.
     “I will meet the president tomorrow at 12 noon,” said Mann while speaking to reporters in Mohali here on Monday.
     Mann had earlier said that he would “strongly present the voice of Punjab” when he meets the resident, saying, “it is our duty to safeguard the mandate of the people of Punjab and democratic values.”
     The CM had sought time for all MLAs for meeting the President, but he had only been invited.
     Mann said that he would arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan with MLAs who would remain outside, while he would go inside for the meeting.
     The CM would also take along a copy of the confidence motion, which was passed by the Punjab Assembly on May 1.
    He said "opportunist leaders" change their parties as per their whims and fancies just for the sake of their vested interests which is completely wrong.
     On April 24, the Aam Aadmi Party suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs -- Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- quit and merged with the BJP, alleging that the party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals. Six of the seven MPs who quit AAP were from Punjab.
     Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Monday officially accepted the merger of the MPs with the BJP, reducing the strength of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the Upper House to three.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)