Bhagwant Mann resigns as MP, says will miss House

New Delhi, March 14

Chief Minister-designate and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann on Monday attended the Lok Sabha for the last time and tendered his resignation to Speaker Om Birla.

Responsibility bigger now

The people of Punjab have now given me a huge responsibility to serve the entire state. I promise the people of Sangrur that another AAP voice will soon resonate in Lok Sabha. Bhagwant Mann, CM-Elect

On his final day as MP, Mann said he would miss the Lower House. The 48-year-old was greeted on AAP’s stupendous victory by a cross section of MPs, including Congress’ Shashi Tharoor and BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab.

Mann was seen sharing happy vibes with party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. Tharoor, who shared a bench with Mann in the LS, tweeted a selfie with the CM-elect and wrote, “Parliamentary camaraderie: Many Congress MPs came up to Bhagwant Mann to congratulate him on his election victory and appointment as CM of Punjab. I had the pleasure of sharing his joy after five years of being seated in the same bench in the Lok Sabha in the previous term.”

The Congress finished a distant second after AAP in the Assembly polls. Asked how he proposed to govern a sensitive, border state, Mann said, “I have been an MP for seven years. We have the administrative experience. AAP is in its third term in Delhi. We are not new. We know how to govern,” said Mann, scheduled to take oath as CM on March 16. He said several youth had been elected in Punjab and titans defeated.

On the query about whether he would take directions from Delhi where AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal is the CM, Mann said, “We will take guidelines from Delhi. It will also take guidelines from Punjab. We will learn good things from Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Bhagat Singh was from Punjab, Chandraskehkar Azad, Ashfaqullah were from UP, Subhash Chandra Bose was from Bengal. Their aim was to strengthen the country. That is our aim too.” —