Sanjay Singh can't give long speeches in RS now: BJP's dig at AAP MP

This came after Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party AAP MPs with the BJP, which reduced the strength of Arvind Kejriwals party in the Upper House to three from 10.

The BJP on Monday took a swipe at AAP MP Sanjay Singh, saying he will not be able to deliver ''long speeches'' in the Rajya Sabha hereafter due to his party's dwindling strength in the House after seven party members switched to the ruling party. This came after Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs with the BJP, which reduced the strength of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the Upper House to three from 10. The BJP's strength in the Upper House increased to 113. Singh had on Sunday submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan seeking the disqualification of seven party MPs in the Upper House. Asked about the development, BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the seven MPs have merged with the BJP with the Rajya Sabha chairman's approval. ''Sanjay Singh must be missing his fellow MPs because he used to give long speeches on their strength … Now Sanjay Singh will have to present his views in few words,'' Hussain told PTI Videos when asked about Singh's petition to the Rajya Sabha chairman. ''Sanjay Singh will no longer be able to deliver long speeches now. Earlier, he used to secure time on the strength of 10 MPs (of the AAP),'' the former Union minister added. BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde welcomed all seven former AAP MPs into the party fold, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve for making India a developed country will gain ''momentum'' with their experience. ''AAP's Seven, Now with BJP,'' Tawde, who is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, said in a post on X in Hindi. ''Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan has accepted the merger of 7 Rajya Sabha MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party into the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal's dictatorial attitude has now been fully exposed before the people of the country,'' the BJP leader added. Meanwhile, Singh said that the AAP will approach the court if the seven former party MPs are not disqualified under the anti-defection law. ''The (Rajya Sabha) Chairman has taken cognisance of the letter submitted by those seven MPs and based on that, accepted their merger. The objection raised by us and the disqualification we sought under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution have not even been considered,'' the AAP Rajya Sabha MP said.