BJP's Punjab unit Chief Sunil Jakhar on Thursday addressed the media for the first time in the presence of Sushil Rinku and Sheetal Angural. Sushil Rinku and Sheetal Angural on Wednesday quit the AAP and joined the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Following this many AAP workers staged protests in Jalandhar and even vandalised public properties and tore the government's hoardings. Apart from this, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to break the party by offering Rs 20- Rs 25 crore to its MLAs to switch sides. The charge was levelled by three AAP MLAs- Jagdeep Singh Goldy Kamboj, Amandeep Singh Musafir, and Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina. Now, Sunil Jakhar on Thursday lashed out at MLAs and even made some controversial remarks. Below is what Jakhar said-
"Yesterday they said that they were offered Rs 25 crore. Their thinking is not more than Rs 25,000. I know them. They were part of the same party in which I was the head. I was the head of the Youth Congress at that time. There are cases lodged against them for Rs 5000. That case was their family matter therefore I will not get into that. Those who kept on going here and there for Rs 5000, will be offered Rs 25 crore. Opposition parties make multiple allegations against the BJP party. But, the BJP is never accused of being dumb. Tell me who will pay Rs 25 crore for things that are already available at Rs 5000 in the market? They put a price tag upon themselves and that too an inflated one."
Operation Lotus in Punjab?
The three aforementioned AAP MLAs alleged that the BJP, even after the implementation of the model code of conduct, was trying to poach MLAs and other leaders of the party in Punjab. The three MLAs made the allegation minutes before AAP’s lone Lok Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Rinku, and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural joined the BJP in Delhi.
Jagdeep Singh Goldy Kamboj, a first-time MLA from Jalalabad during the press conference on Wednesday said, "The call came from Cyprus, and the caller, who identified himself as Sewak Singh, offered me Rs 20- Rs 25 crore to join the BJP. He said I can tell any demand I have. I told him I don’t have any demand and my loyalty to AAP is not for sale."