Rajya Sabha MP and former cricket star Harbhajan Singh called out Union Home Minister Amit Shah of his new party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in New Delhi on Saturday, one week after he publicly accused the Aam Aadmi Party, which he originally sent to Parliament, of “selling” seats to the Socialist Revolutionaries. He had promised to name those responsible but has not done so yet.
Posting a photo of his meeting with Shah on
The next Punjab Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in about nine months, and the BJP is hoping to make its own mark there even after finishing fifth in the urban local body polls this week.
Harbhajan got angry
Harbhajan Singh, who was largely apolitical until the defection of seven RJD MPs led by Raghav Chadha, recently struck a combative tone after RJD workers protested outside his home in Jalandhar and called him a “wall” or a traitor.
On May 22, in response to AAP leader Devender Yadav calling him a traitor and questioning why he was holding on to the Rajya Sabha seat given to him by AAP, Harbhajan Singh wrote on
He further claimed: “I will tell you who took how much bribe and by whom. And how someone was appointed minister or guard to plunder Punjab and deliver the goods to Lala. Punjab was plundered and devoured.” “Lala” is a Punjabi slang that refers to classes and castes of merchants, such as the caste to which Arvind Kejriwal belongs.
Harbhajan went further, saying, “When the time comes, every one of your words will be answered. I have not insulted any of your leaders. Why should I soil my tongue?”
Harbhajan was among seven MPs from the AAP Rajya Sabha who defected to the BJP on April 24. The group included Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahni, and Swati Maliwal. All except Maliwal were elected in Delhi from Punjab by AAP MLAs.
The defectors argued that the move was legally protected under anti-defection rules, because it constituted two-thirds of the AAP’s ten-member Rajya Sabha force. Chadha, one of the founding members of the AAP, has since accused the Kejriwal-led party and the Punjab government headed by Bhagwant Mann of corruption.
RS log and AAP retort
Harbhajan remained largely detached from his role in the Rajya Sabha. According to the SRP’s legislative research, its presence in the Rajya Sabha throughout its tenure was 28%, against a national average of 79% and the Punjab Socialist Revolutionary MPs’ average of 75%. During one balancing session, he did not attend one session in the first phase for 10 days; His office attributed his absence to medical treatment abroad.
His election certificate described his occupation as “former cricketer and commentator”, a description that more accurately reflects his public life. Since his retirement from international cricket in 2016 and subsequently from all formats, he has been a prominent fixture in the IPL broadcast and commentary boxes.
He emphasized his celebrity status when falling out with the AAP: “This country has given me so much love – 20 years of holding the nation’s name high in sports. Your people think that if they bring some marks, it will stick. This just reflects their cheap mentality.”
AAP’s response to the corruption allegations was dismissive. Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj asked Harbhajan Singh to clarify who allegedly received the money if the payments were actually made.
Punjab President Bhagwant Mann, who convened a one-day special session of the assembly after the defection to prove the majority, declared that the AAP’s support base “remains intact and will translate into a greater mandate in 2027”.
The opposition Congress Party has been taking decisions all along.
Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said: “The people of Punjab deserve answers from Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. Who sold out the interests of Punjab? Who traded in Rajya Sabha seats?”
Congress MLA and former Team India hockey captain Harbhajan Singh called on Harbhajan Singh to go further, “He should now publicly tell Punjabis the entire truth about the alleged Rajya Sabha tickets, ministerial posts and allegations of handing over money to ‘Lala Ji’.”
He said that if the BJP does not hold a press conference to reveal such facts, “it will only reinforce the belief that this is nothing more than a political farce.”
From the Shiromani Akali Dal, Bikram Singh Majithia spoke in the same vein, saying: “Rajya Sabha seats have been sold, money has passed from one hand to another, and the political system of Punjab has been put in jeopardy. Presidencies, ministerial posts and powerful positions have been auctioned off. Everything in Punjab has been put up for sale.”
The evidence has not been produced yet, but the AAP’s choice of wealthy industrialists among its picks in the Rajya Sabha has been questioned by rivals. These people were selected based on their credentials in different fields, Mann said. “We couldn’t read their minds; there’s no machine to do that,” the comedian-turned-politician said.
