In Ludhiana, BJP’s Manoranjan Kalia trains guns at AAP, hails turncoat MPs

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoranjan Kalia hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its supremo Arvind Kejriwal, terming the latter’s Rajghat visit to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi a “political stunt”.

Kalia also hailed Rajya Sabha members Rajinder Gupta, Ashok Mittal and Harbhajan Singh, calling them “real sons of Punjab”. They were among the seven MPs who recently switched to the BJP.

“Before starting ‘satyagraha’ movement, he should have gone to Anna Hazare — the real founder of the AAP with an ideology to serve the common man,” Kalia said, alleging Hazare was sidelined by Kejriwal because of vested interests.

Addressing a press conference, Kalia slammed Kejriwal and said he should introspect why the MPs deserted the AAP, instead of playing “blame game”.

Since the party’s inception, over 22 key leaders have walked out, he said.

The BJP leader said the 2024 municipal elections had exposed the AAP’s reality as it failed to get a majority in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. He said it was the “public’s verdict on misrule” in the state.