New Delhi: The leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is surprised by the stoic silence of five of its seven Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab since the arrest of party chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 in the Delhi liquor "scam". They have so far not uttered a word condemning the arrest nor have they demonstrated in any way that they stand with the party at this hour of crisis.

Except for Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, party MPs Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Sanjeev Arora, Balbir Singh Seechewal and Vikramjit Singh Sahney have not spoken against Kejriwal's arrest. Defying the party line, they have also not changed the profile pictures on their social media handles. Since Kerjiwal's arrest, AAP leaders have changed their profile pictures to an image showing a jailed Kejriwal with the slogan “Modi ka sabse bada dar, Kejriwal”.

"None of the MPs has given any statement against the BJP or extended their support to the party’s national convener," said a Punjab minister in the AAP government, according to The Tribune.

It is being reported that Balbir Singh Seechewal had clarified to the party leadership before accepting its offer for the Rajya Sabha membership that he would not participate in the party’s political events.

Similarly, Vikramjit Sahney, a businessman and philanthropist, has said in one of the posts that he is "non-political and raises issues related to Sikhs, youth, Punjab and Punjabiyat, rising above political lines".

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.