New Delhi

Sanjay Singh on Friday strongly criticised the resignation of seven Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha members, alleging the defections were orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party under “Operation Lotus.”

Addressing a press conference after the resignations, Singh accused the BJP of trying to disrupt the work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab. He said the people of Punjab would never forgive those MPs who abandoned the party.

The remarks came after a major setback for AAP, with seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha members resigning from the party on Friday.

Those who quit reportedly included Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Swati Maliwal and Harbhajan Singh.

At a separate media briefing held alongside Chadha, Pathak said the group had decided to join the BJP as a separate faction.

READ MORE: Assam-born Fazlur Rahman finds cancer's link with environment

Chadha stated that nearly two-thirds of AAP’s Rajya Sabha strength had left the party and would align with the BJP.