Raghav Chadha Resigns Highlights: AAP suffers big setback; demoted Raghav Chadha outsmarts Kejriwal

"I want to commend the courage of all those people. Those who have merged with the BJP should now work openly. The BJP is a party where you can work for the development and welfare of the public," BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said on 2/3rd AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merging with his side.

From 1 pm to 5 pm, a lot happened in the AAP camp in Delhi on Friday. First, Arvind Kejriwal tweeted about moving out of his house at 5 Feroz Shah Road, which reportedly belonged to Ashok Mittal. Then Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann tried to call Harbhajan Singh several times, but the latter didn't pick up. Two hours later, Raghav Chadha dropped the bomb – he and six other MPs, including Mittal and Singh, would merge with the BJP. Here's the timeline of events.

AAP demoted Raghav Chadha, and called the issues he shared in Rajya Sabha "not real". He said he wouldn't be silenced. Then, the AAP-ruled Punjab removed his Z+ cover security. And now the 37-year-old, once called Arvind Kejriwal's blue-eyed boy, has outsmarted the bigwigs. Read here

AAP MPs left the party out of frustration, says BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana. "Here is huge corruption in Punjab since the formation of the AAP government...They (AAP Rajya Sabha MPs) left the party after getting frustrated," he added.

Former Haryana Deputy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said the resigning of the AAP MPs show democracy is being strangled. "All the regional parties should unite and fight against them...By misusing the ED, CBI they put pressure on the AAP leaders."

Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge called out 'Operation Lotus' after 7 AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha merged with the BJP. "...Operation Lotus is always being carried out by the BJP. They can never get a majority without those kinds of tactics. These dirty tricks have been mastered by the BJP in Karnataka and are being implemented throughout the country by PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he told reporters.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann reportedly called Harbhajan Singh multiple times, nearly two hours before Raghav Chadha's bombshell announcement. Harbhajan, who was considered Mann's choice, did not pick up. The cricketer-turned-politician is currently said to be in Mumbai. Harbhajan Singh is among the seven MPs who will join the BJP later after Chadha's announced that 2/3rd of AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha are merging with the saffron party.

Tarun Singh, BJP National General Secretary, said, "...AAP's corruption has been exposed before the public. Today, they have been exposed to the public. The truth has come out." His remarks came after Raghav and six other AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha announced a merger with the BJP.

Following the announcement of seven out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs, led by Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, merging with the BJP, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said that the AAP is "united", adding that the party "won't be affected". 

He further added that "6–7 people who have left do not comprise Punjab" and that the party is "bigger than" any individual.

(With PTI inputs)

BJP National President Nitin Nabin welcomed Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal to the party on Friday, shortly after the trio publicly left the AAP.

Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal have formally joined the BJP at its headquarters in New Delhi. This came shortly after the three Rajya Sabha MPs publicly quit the AAP. Four more AAP Rajya Sabha members, including Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal, are set to join the BJP.

Video: AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal arrive at the BJP headquarters. Seven out of AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha MPs have announced aligning with the BJP.

(With agency inputs)

After seven of AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha members, including Raghav Chadha and Ashok Mittal, quit the party on Friday and announced joining the BJP, the saffron party said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has become a "den of corruption".

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."

The mega departure from AAP was jointly announced by Chadha, Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. They said four other AAP Rajya Sabha members were on board with the switch.

(With PTI inputs)

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann lashed out at the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs who are purportedly going to the join the BJP, calling them traitors. "The 6–7 who have gone are gaddar (traitors)," he said. "They just got the chair with ease. They didn’t do any hard work," Mann added. "They have done this to save their own skin," the Punjab CM said further. 

This came after AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak jointly announced that they, along with four other House members, were leaving the AAP for the BJP.

(With inputs from Aseem Bassi)

Following his announcement to exit AAP and join BJP, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha tweets, saying, "Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP. Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Hon’ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. I, along with two other MPs, personally handed over the signed documents."

The press conference was addressed by Chadha, along with fellow AAP Rajya Sabha MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. The trio said seven out of AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha members were "merging with the BJP."

Addressing a press conference about seven of 10 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs going to join the BJP, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday alleged that the saffron party misused central agencies such as the CBI and the ED to pressure the parliamentarians into leaving AAP. He also cited ED raids at premises linked to Ashok Mittal, one of the dissenting AAP MPs, by the ED earlier in the month to back his claim. He referred to the alleged intimidation as "Operation Lotus."

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday sharply criticised the BJP after Raghav Chadha and two other AAP MPs said a total of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, including them, were going to join the BJP.

Addressing a press conference, Mann said, "Today BJP has backstabbed Punjab by taking some of our MPs . BJP doesn’t have own base here. They cannot match the work done by the aap In Punjab."

(With Aseem Bassi's inputs)

AAP National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, has slammed the BJP after Raghav Chadha and two other AAP MPs announced that they, along with four other parliamentarians, were leaving AAP to join the BJP. In a post on X, the former Delhi CM said, "BJP has once again given Punjabis a shove." Punjab is the only state where the AAP is in power and hence, majority of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs are from Punjab.

Reacting sharply to Raghav Chadha and other AAP MPs' announcement to join the BJP, the saffron party's Delhi unit chief said on Friday that only sycophants of Arvind Kejriwal will stay in AAP. The BJP leader further asserted that "corruption" is given priority in AAP.

Watch: Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal leave from the Constitution Club of India after addressing a press conference where they announced plans to join the BJP along with four other AAP parliamentarians.