Chandigarh, Feb 13 (IANS) Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-ruling legislator Narinder Kaur Bharaj has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of luring her with party ticket and fulfillment of any demand under ‘Operation Lotus’.
She alleged that the Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini invited her for a closed-door meeting.
“The BJP is running ‘Operation Lotus’ across the country to topple elected governments. A few days ago, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini tried to contact me. He tempted me with a BJP ticket from Sangrur and said that whatever demand I had would be fulfilled. He also offered a closed-door meeting,” Kaur, the legislator from Sangrur, told the media.
She also said, “I joined the AAP in 2014 at the age of 19, inspired by the policies of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. I am that worker who has put up posters for the party. Only the Aam Aadmi Party can give a small farmer’s daughter the honour of becoming an MLA at the age of 27.”
Taking a sharp jibe at the Haryana Chief Minister, Kaur said, “The way (Haryana CM) Saini sahib has been roaming streets of Punjab these days, it seems the BJP has sent him to Punjab on deputation. My advice to him is to stop worrying about me or Punjab and take care of Haryana. The people of Punjab and AAP MLAs stand like a rock with Bhagwant Singh Mann and Arvind Kejriwal.”
She made it clear that the AAP remains united.
“Every worker, MLA and Minister of the Aam Aadmi Party is united. We have entered politics to change the system and to provide health and education facilities, not to indulge in horse-trading. We are fully prepared for the 2027 elections, and such cheap tactics of the BJP cannot shake us.”
Meanwhile, AAP State Media In-charge Baltej Pannu told the media, “The BJP is once again unsuccessfully trying to crush democracy in Punjab through ‘Operation Lotus’. This is not the first time the BJP has tried to buy AAP MLAs, but they forget that Punjabis are known for their honour.”
“Saini sahib should keep his ‘Haryana Model’ where people are suffering under expensive electricity. Punjab follows the model of Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, where facilities like free electricity exist, which are nowhere to be seen in your failed Haryana Model.”
Pannu also said, “Four years of the Punjab government are about to be completed, yet BJP’s glamour and offers worth crores of rupees could not sway even a single MLA. AAP MLAs are sons and daughters of ordinary households, whom traditional parties used to mock by calling them ‘material’ or ‘band-baaja walas’.
–IANS
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