New Delhi/Chandigarh: In the Aam Aadmi Party’s first official response after senior leader Raghav Chadha and six other Rajya Sabha MPs quit the party, AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Friday alleged that the BJP had launched an “Operation Lotus” to destabilise the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government.

Addressing a press conference, Singh directly accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of trying to obstruct the welfare work being carried out by the AAP government in Punjab.

“Operation Lotus by Modi and Amit Shah is actively underway to destroy the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government,” Singh said.

He said the Punjab government had rolled out key welfare measures, including 300 units of free electricity, good education, water supply, financial support for Dalits, women and health coverage worth ₹10 lakh, and alleged that attempts were being made to stop these schemes.

“Such great work is being carried out by the AAP government. They are ready to stop and hinder the work of the government,” he said.

In a sharp attack on the leaders who resigned, Singh said the people of Punjab would not forget the move.

“All seven names should be remembered by Punjab and the citizens of Punjab would never forget them,” he said.

The remarks came hours after a major political setback for AAP, with Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal among seven Rajya Sabha MPs quitting the party.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Sandeep Pathak said he would join the BJP, while Chadha claimed that nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs had resigned and would move as a faction.

The leaders claimed that seven out of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs have now quit the party. Besides Chadha, Pathak and Mittal, the names mentioned include Swati Maliwal and Harbhajan Singh.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh also stressed that several of the MPs who resigned had been politically elevated by AAP.

The mass resignations are being seen as one of the biggest internal crises for AAP since it came to power in Punjab, with the development likely to have wider implications for opposition politics and parliamentary equations.

The BJP has not yet officially responded to AAP’s “Operation Lotus” allegation.