"Don't believe in breaking parties": Congress' Pramod Tiwari on dissent rumours of AAP Punjab MLAs

New Delhi [India], February 11 (ANI): Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Tuesday dismissed claims of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs being in touch with the BJP and the Congress, stating that their party (Congress) doesn't believe in breaking other parties.
However, he asserted that Congress' state leadership is monitoring the political situation in Punjab.
Tiwari also lashed out at the BJP saying that they have a history of "horse-trading" and "breaking parties", citing examples of Maharashtra, Goa and Manipur.
Speaking to ANI, Congress MP Tiwari said, "BJP has a history of horse-trading and breaking parties- we have seen this in Maharashtra, Goa, Manipur also. They will try to do this in Punjab as well. As far as Congress is concerned, we do not believe in breaking parties. Our party's state leadership is monitoring the situation over there."
Earlier today, amid allegations raised by the opposition in Punjab that the Aam Aadmi Party government-led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann can fall anytime, Congress MP Manish Tewari said that any political instability in Punjab will have "very severe national repercussions."
Speaking to ANI, Tewari said it's a "tragedy" that Delhi has never understood Punjab and unfortunately will never understand Punjab because the state has a different ethos, a different culture, a different syncretism and it ticks to a different beat.
He also pointed that Punjab, being a border state, needs to be handled very carefully and the Centre needs to have a 'border policy' for the border states.
"Any political instability in Punjab will have very severe national repercussions. Punjab is a border state. Our western neighbor is always hyperactive in trying to subvert and destroy the peace of Punjab. Therefore, there are certain border states which need to be handled very carefully. The situation in the northeast, Manipur is far from stabilizing and so the Government of India should really concentrate on having a border policy for the border states," Tewari said.
"Delhi has never understood Punjab and unfortunately, Delhi will never understand Punjab because the state has a different ethos, a different culture, a different syncretism and it ticks to a different beat," he added.
Meanwhile, AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal held a meeting with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, State Ministers and MLAs after party's defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections.
The BJP won the Delhi assembly election by a comfortable margin, winning 48 out of 70 assembly seats. AAP suffered a massive setback, securing only 22 seats--a huge drop from its previous tally of 62 in 2020 polls. With this historic mandate, BJP is returning to power in the national capital after 27 years.
Bharatiya Janata Party has already claimed that the Punjab government may fall soon.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Monday said that the countdown for the fall of the AAP government in Punjab has begun, and the party's state unit is a "house of cards" that will collapse soon, as the much-touted Delhi model, which the Bhagwant Mann government wanted to implement in Punjab, has been outrightly rejected by Delhi.
Yesterday, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal said that people of Delhi have "punished" Arvind Kejriwal, stating that the for the state's condition and warned that Punjab faces a similar situation.
On Sunday, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa claimed that over 30 AAP legislators in Punjab are in touch with the Congress and ready to switch sides. He also targeted the AAP over Delhi election results and said that the party tasted a humiliating defeat in Delhi.
The Congress leader also mentioned that the Punjab government led by CM Bhagwant Mann remained inefficient in taking action against its corrupt ministers and leaders.
"The Mann government will meet the same fate in 2027. Delhi's results point towards the beginning of AAP's end," Partap Singh Bajwa said.
BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh also claimed that the AAP has finished. "Just like BSP candidates lost their deposits in most of the seats they contested in the Delhi assembly elections, AAP candidates will also lose their deposits in the coming times and the contest will be only between BJP and Congress," Singh said. (ANI)