Tumkur (Karnataka) [India], April 26 : Congress leader Ramesh Babu accused Raghav Chadha and six other former Aam Aadmi Party MPs of "betraying" the party by merging with the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling the move a "big blunder" by BJP National President Nitin Nabin.
Speaking with ANI, Ramesh Babu said that the move is "not in good taste" and "shakes the foundation of democracy".
"It is not fair. The new BJP President has made a big blunder. This is not in good taste. It is shaking the foundation of democracy... They betrayed the party that elected them," he said.
Earlier, AAP Chief Spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal termed the MPs merging with the BJP as "rotten eggs", alleging that the ruling party is attempting to stifle the party's voice in the upper house of Parliament.
Speaking to ANI, Dhaliwal asserted that these MPs were given a ticket from the party's top brass with a "noble" intention, but they "betrayed" the people of Punjab.
"When Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann gave them Rajya Sabha tickets, the idea was to represent youth, education, industry and culture... The intention was noble, but just as when you buy eggs, some turn out rotten. These rotten eggs betrayed Punjab. The BJP has already tried to silence Punjab's voice. Now they attempt to shut us out of Rajya Sabha," he said, stressing that Punjab's voice cannot be silenced," Dhaliwal said.
This comes after Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal announced that they have parted ways with AAP and subsequently joined BJP, adding that Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal have also switched with them.
Raghav Chadha said that they have informed the Chairman of the House, in accordance with the rules, of their leaving the party. He formalised a split that had been building for weeks, announcing that two-thirds of the party's Upper House members would merge with the BJP.
Meanwhile, Raghav Chadha, on Saturday, after his exit from AAP, alleged that the party has deviated from its core principles and no longer provides space for honest workers.
"Today, every true patriot who nurtured the Aam Aadmi Party with their blood and sweat and joined it with great expectations has either left the Aam Aadmi Party or is leaving it. Every honest, hardworking person feels that there is no longer room for work in the Aam Aadmi Party. And the Aam Aadmi Party is now walking on a wrong path that no one wants to be associated with. Consequently, one by one, many leaders have left the Aam Aadmi Party," Chadha said.