'Will Continue To Adhere To My Principles': Sandeep Pathak On Punjab Police FIRs After BJP Shift

Last Updated:May 03, 2026, 18:02 IST

Pathak's remarks came after Punjab police reportedly filed two FIRs against him on charges of corruption and harassment, days after he switched to the BJP.

Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), responded to the Punjab police filing two FIRs against him on charges of corruption and harassment.

The police action came after Pathak, a key AAP strategist, defected to the BJP along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs. As per reports, the cases against Pathak were filed in two separate districts of Punjab under non-bailable sections.

Speaking to reporters, Pathak said he had yet to receive any formal information about the FIRs and suggested that the state machinery in Punjab was being misused.

“Since yesterday, television channels have been reporting that two FIRs have been filed against me in Punjab. I have yet to receive any formal or informal information about these FIRs. Since yesterday, I’ve been waiting to receive a copy of the FIRs so I can respond," he said.

Addressing his transition from AAP to the BJP, Pathak asserted that his exit was motivated by deep-seated ideological fractures rather than personal gain.

“As long as I worked in the AAP, I worked according to principles and righteousness. Today, I am in the BJP. I will continue to work according to principles and righteousness. Success or failure in politics does not matter to me. I have to ensure that, even if I fail, I never break my political dharma," he added.

BJP, Congress Alleges ‘Political Vendetta’

Meanwhile, the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) reacted to the development, calling it AAP’s “political vendetta" against Pathak. Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma accused the AAP government in the state of using the police to suppress the opposition.

“The registration of a non-bailable FIR against Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak in Punjab after he left the AAP and joined the BJP clearly shows that police are being used as a political weapon by Kejriwal and Mann," Sharma alleged. “This is the politics of fear, panic and revenge."

Congress leader Shama Mohammad also attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying, “Arvind Kejriwal has started lodging FIRs against MPs who left him and is trying to use the machinery of the Punjab government to arrest them."

This came after the AAP received a massive setback on April 24, when seven of its 10 MPs – Sandeep Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal – quit the party to join the BJP. Earlier, the Punjab Police had withdrawn the security cover of MP and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh.

(with inputs from agencies)

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