New Delhi, April 25 -- In a massive jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after quitting the party. Addressing a press conference, Chadha, flanked by Pathak and Mittal, said that two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MPs have quit the party and will join the BJP as a faction. Chadha said that party MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are also quitting the AAP. "AAP, that I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values and core morals," he said. Chadha was recently removed as the deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha and was replaced by Mittal in the Upper House. "In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative. "They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha," Chadha told reporters. Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, Chadha said that the party is no longer working for the country, but for its own benefit. "Over the past few years, I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party. Today, I announce my decision to move away from AAP and work more closely with the 'janata' (public)," he said. Another Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak, said that he had never thought that this situation would arise, but it has. "For 10 years, I remained associated with this party. And today, I am parting ways with the Aam Aadmi Party," Pathak said. "I had never thought that such a situation would ever occur in my life. But it did. I was a part of this party for 10 years. Today, I am separating my path from that of the AAP. When it came to joining a party, I joined AAP because they spoke of new politics and politics of work. In 10 years, I worked hard. All political decisions I made were taken by prioritising the party's interests," Pathak said in a press conference. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the BJP had once again betrayed the people of Punjab after seven Rajya Sabha MPs quit the party. Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, "The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis." Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who on Friday announced her decision to quit AAP, alleged that the party under its national convener Arvind Kejriwal had strayed from its founding principles and shielded individuals involved in misconduct. "With great sorrow today, I must say that the principles, values and resolve for honest politics with which we began this journey have been abandoned by Arvind Kejriwal ji and, at his behest, the entire Aam Aadmi Party," she said on X. Earlier, addressing a joint press conference, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak said they were joining the BJP. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Singh accused the BJP of orchestrating what he called "Operation Lotus" in a targeted attempt to dismantle the progress made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's government. "Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have begun their 'Operation Lotus' to stop the good work of Punjab's Bhagwant Mann Government...7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are joining the BJP. The people of Punjab should remember these 7 names. These 'traitors' of Punjab would never be forgiven by the people," he said. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday dubbed AAP's Rajya Sabha members, who quit the party and announced joining the BJP, as "gaddars" (traitors). Addressing a press conference here, Mann alleged that the BJP was trying to break the AAP and had "betrayed the people of Punjab." When they did not find anything against Bhagwant Mann, they tried to break AAP, said Mann, who returned on Friday after nearly a week-long visit to the Netherlands and Finland to attract investments for his state. The BJP Friday said the AAP is in "complete disarray" and has become a "den of corruption" after seven of its Rajya Sabha members, including Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, quit and announced they are joining the BJP. In a post on X, BJP national 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." Punjab Congress President and MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Friday said that the split in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was "natural" and stated that the party has "no ideology"...