Chandigarh, May 1 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said he will meet President Droupadi Murmu alone on May 5 to seek the recall of the seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha members who defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week. Though Mann had requested a collective audience for all AAP MLAs from Punjab, the President's office invited only him. Mann said he still intends to travel to Rashtrapati Bhavan with his fellow AAP legislators, who will wait outside while he presents the concerns of the people of Punjab to the President. "I am pleased to inform you that President Murmu has granted an appointment at 12 noon on May 5. Though we had requested time for all MLAs, I alone have received the invitation. I will go to Rashtrapati Bhavan with all my fellow AAP legislators on Tuesday to strongly present the concerns of the people of Punjab," he posted on X, asserting that it was their duty to safeguard people's mandate and democratic values. The CM also stated that he would share the next strategy after the May 5 meeting. The meeting follows the April 24 defection of seven MPs, constituting two-thirds of AAP's total strength of 10 in the upper house, to the BJP, dealing a serious blow to the party. Six of these MPs - Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney - are from Punjab and Swati Maliwal represents Delhi. While Rajya Sabha chairman and vice-president CP Radhakrishnan has already recognised their merger with the BJP, Mann seeks to formally demand a recall of the six rebel MPs elected by Punjab legislators. Questioning the constitutional validity of the CM's recall demand for the MPs, Sahney asked about non-performers in Punjab, pointing to issues such as rampant illegal sand mining, high unemployment, mounting debt, and ransom calls. He said that all non-performers in Punjab should be recalled. "They (AAP) are not doing introspection on why Sandeep Pathak and Raghav Chadha were sidelined. That is where it all began. We joined the bandwagon later. There was growing discomfort because nothing was happening in the state. We have not ditched anyone and were there for most of their tenure. Now, only three to four months are left before the model code of conduct comes into force," said the Rajya Sabha member, who called on Union home minister Amit Shah earlier in the day. Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar termed the CM's move to take all his MLAs to Delhi while only he has been granted audience by the President as "nothing but theatrics". He said that instead of doing introspection, Mann and team are indulging in what they do best to divert attention from their misgovernance. "I don't think they should drag the office of President into this tamasha," he said. Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan met AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday and asserted that the party is united. He alleged that the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies are being misused to break the AAP. He said when the time comes, the people will give a befitting reply to the "petty tactics" of the BJP. "It is the need of the hour to uphold secular thinking and the vision of Kejriwal to take the country on the path of progress needs to be adopted," he added....