Two FIRs have been registered against Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak in Punjab, days after he left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Pathak was among the seven Rajya Sabha MPs who recently left the AAP and merged with the BJP. Others include Raghav Chadha, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Sahni, Harbhajan Singh and Ashok Mittal.
Except for Maliwal, all of them are MPs from Punjab. Their exodus has significantly reduced the strength of AAP’s Rajya Sabha party from 10 to 3, marking a major setback for the party ahead of the Punjab elections.
What we know so far
- While the exact reason behind these cases is not yet clear, government sources told HT that FIRs were lodged under non-bailable sections.
- “Punjab Police is making efforts to arrest the accused as the FIR has been registered under non-bailable sections,” HT had earlier reported quoting government sources.
- Amid reports that emerged on Saturday, Pathak was seen leaving his residence in Delhi. When the Rajya Sabha MP was called for a response, he did not intervene and left in his car.
- There has been no official confirmation from Punjab Police yet regarding the FIR.
- When asked about this development, Sandeep Pathak told news agency ANI: “I have no idea about any FIR against me.”
BJP claims ‘revenge politics’
The FIRs sparked sharp reactions from the BJP, which accused the RJD leadership of political vendetta.
In a post on X, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that the AAP leadership was targeting dissenters and using state machinery to achieve political goals.
“Two FIRs have been lodged against Sandeep Pathak, who until recently was a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a Rajya Sabha MP and General Secretary (of the organisation). What is puzzling is Arvind Kejriwal’s brazen and shameful vendetta policy, with Bhagwant Mann’s complicity in it,” Poonawalla wrote.
He further said: “It is clear that this was carried out out of vendetta politics by Kejriwal, who has a spirit of revenge and extreme revenge, and is misusing Punjab Police to pursue such political vendetta.”
Questioning the timing of the FIRs, he added, “If these cases were there from the beginning, why were the FIRs not lodged earlier? And if he was corrupt, why did he remain in the party for so long, especially when he was the general secretary (of the organisation)? Has any new material come to light in the last few days, or did the alleged corruption happen only now?”
Poonawalla also alleged that several former AAP leaders, including Yogendra Yadav, Mayank Gandhi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba, were previously “hounded” after quitting the party.
BJP leader Tarun Chugh echoed similar sentiments, saying, “A clear atmosphere of resentment against the AAP government has taken root in the minds of the people. It is because of this frustration, desperation and anxiety that these acts of reprisal are being carried out. However, the people of Punjab are not people who should be intimidated; ANI quoted him as saying.”
Earlier this week, the AAP government also came under attack from the BJP after the Punjab Pollution Control Board raided Trident Group’s Dhaula unit. The unit is linked to Rajya Sabha MP and Rajinder Gupta, founder of the billion-dollar textile major, who have also switched from AAP to BJP. The party rejected any accusations.
