Arvind Kejriwal asked me to resign as MP: Vikramjit Singh Sahney on defection debate

In a fresh twist to the ongoing matter related to the defection and merger by seven AAP members with the BJP, Punjab MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney, one of the members of the defecting bloc, on Sunday said party chief Arvind Kejriwal had earlier met him and asked him to resign as MP.

Sahney, who has stated that be joined the BJP voluntarily because he believes he will be able to better serve Punjab as a BJP member, said Kejriwal had called him for a meeting on April 22.

Sahney was speaking after a narrative went around all day that he informed Kejriwal about the plan of two-third Rajya Sabha strength of the party planning to defect.

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"There’s a misleading narrative circulating that I may have informed Kejriwal about two-third of AAP MPs leaving. This is absolutely incorrect," Sahney said.

The Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, who is said to be among the seven AAP members to have signed a letter of merger with the BJP, went on to disclose that Kejriwal himself had called him for a meeting.

"To set the record straight, Kejriwal himself called me for a meeting on Wednesday (April 22). During the meeting, he asked me whether I was under any pressure, to which I clearly said no. He then suggested that I may consider resigning as MP, and I responded that I would think about it—that’s all," Sahney said.

He said he and Kejriwal were supposed to meet again on Friday by which time the press conference (of Raghav Chadha) happened.