Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Bharatiya Janata Party had once again betrayed the people of Punjab after seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party quit and announced they would merge with the BJP as a separate faction.

In a post on X, Kejriwal said, "The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis."

The break was announced by Raghav Chadha, who appeared with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. Chadha said that nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MPs had quit and would move together.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said, "The seven MPs who are joining the BJP don't represent Punjab, they are traitors. They won't get anything in the BJP also."

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the defections were part of 'Operation Lotus' and that the people of Punjab will not forgive the seven who quit.

AAP’s Punjab unit accused the BJP of trying to engineer a split.

Chief spokesperson Baltej Pannu named Union home minister Amit Shah and said, "Our party has reports that Amit Shah has told Raghav Chadha that if he breaks seven MPs, then he will be made a minister," Pannu alleged.

He added, "Ever since AAP came to power, regular attempts have been made to break it, be it through attempts to 'buy' our MLAs, use threats...but they remained firm as they had joined the party under a mission".

"Wherever polls are near, the BJP government uses agencies like ED, CBI to target political opponents", he alleged.

The BJP rejected the allegations. Punjab BJP leader Vineet Joshi said, "AAP is levelling such baseless allegations," Joshi said.

At the national level, BJP leaders said the development reflected AAP’s condition. Party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said, "No one believes in the corrupt AAP. The party, which started by claiming to be a party with a difference, has become a den of corruption."

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said, "The Aam Aadmi Party is in complete disarray. The collapse is no longer speculation; it is unfolding in real time."