Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwat Mann on February 11 dismissed the possibility of change of guard in Punjab. Mann was reacting to comments from the BJP that said that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal will replace him as the CM. BJP said this following AAP's defeat in Delhi and Kejriwal's loss in his seat.
As per reports, Mann was speaking to the media after an AAP meeting in Delhi, which was attended by Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia, all Punjab MLAs, and other key party officials. The meeting of Punjab MLAs at the national capital's Kapurthala House had attracted attention, with a senior BJP leader claiming that Kejriwal was trying to replace Mann as Chief Minister.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, newly elected MLA from Rajouri Garden, claimed in a video that the AAP national convener was trying to remove Mann by branding him incompetent. "After losing the Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal has called a meeting of Punjab MLAs in Delhi. Reports suggest that he is trying to remove @BhagwantMann Ji from the CM post by branding him as incompetent. He failed to fulfill his promise of giving Rs 1,000 to women, was unsuccessful in curbing drug abuse and has worsened Punjab's situation. Now, he wants to put all failure on Bhagwant Mann. He is making AAP Punjab MLAs say that Kejriwal is a 'good man' and should be made Chief Minister instead," he said.
When Mann was asked about this claim, he smiled and said, "Let them say". He also assured that the Punjab government would fulfill its promise of giving Rs 1,000 every month to women.
The Chief Minister also responded to Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa's claim that more than 20 AAP MLAs in Punjab are in touch with him. "Partap Bajwa has been saying this for nearly three years. Ask him to count the number of (Congress) MLAs in Delhi for the third time," he said, mocking the Congress for its hat-trick of scoring zero seats in the Delhi election.
He was also asked about Bajwa's claims that he may quit AAP. "Let them talk. We have built this party with our blood and sweat. Actually, they have a culture of switching sides... One of their leaders was beating a dhol to celebrate AAP's defeat. Someone asked him if he was celebrating Congress's zero score," he said. The AAP has 93 MLAs and the Congress 16 in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.
