AAP launches full-blown attack on Raghav Chadha, BJP comes out in support

The Aam Aadmi Party has launched a full-blown attack against its own leader, Raghav Chadha, with party leaders sharing videos blasting the Punjab MP. Until day before yesterday, Chadha, once Arvind Kejriwal's blue-eyed boy, was "raising issues of the common man" in Rajya Sabha before AAP dropped him as deputy leader, alleging he was not raising "real issues".

Raghav Chadha is now facing an all-out attack from his party colleagues, who accuse him of "being afraid to speak against PM Modi" and not standing with the party.

The videos came after Chadha, breaking his silence on being replaced by Ashok Mittal, alleged that the move was an attempt to silence him.

“The party has formally requested the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop him from speaking under the AAP quota. Is it wrong to speak for the people? I ask this because my own party has now formally requested the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop me from speaking,” he said in a video statement.

He questioned why raising issues that help the public had upset the party leadership. "These discussions helped the public, but how did they upset the Aam Aadmi Party? I am silenced, not defeated.”

Later, the 37-year-old MP also dropped AAP from his X bio which now reads, "Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)." This has fuelled speculation about whether he is planning to quit the party.

While AAP leaders continued their attack on Chadha, the BJP praised the MP for speaking up and accused Arvind Kejriwal of using people and then getting rid of them. BJP leaders also praised his Rajya Sabha speeches and lauded him for raising public issues.

AAP LEADERS VS RAGHAV CHADHA

After Chadha shared a video alleging that AAP was trying to silence him despite him raising issues of the common man, AAP leaders shared videos highlighting what went wrong for him. The rift is no longer internal now, it has turned into a public bashing with leaders mincing no words. They said Chadha was afraid to speak against the PM, and had wasted his parliamentary time discussing samosas instead of pressing national issues.

AAP national media chief Anurag Dhanda said Chadha refused to sign a resolution against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and remained seated for PM's Parliament address even when other party members walked out. He recalled that when AAP workers were arrested in Gujarat, Chadha did not raise the issue in the House.

"Did Sansad Sahab speak for hundreds of AAP workers who have been arrested by the Gujarat Police? He would stay in attendance in the Parliament when the AAP MPs staged walkout," he said.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, President AAP Delhi unit, attacked Chadha, saying, “Jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya” (One who gets scared is as good as dead). "We are all soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal ji. The only thing we learnt is: the one who gets scared is as good as dead."

He accused Chadha of doing “soft PR” instead of raising real issues. “Stop soft PR. Don’t talk about samosas and pizzas in Parliament. Use the limited time to question the BJP government on serious matters," he said.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh, too, shared a video on his X handle, attacking Chadha.

Atishi also shared a video, pointing some questions at Ragha Chadha and levelled similar allegations against him. Atishi further accused Chadha of not raising questions against Election Commission, SIR and voter deletion.

"Why are you so scared of BJP? Why are you scared of speaking against PM Modi?," she asked. "You are a big man. You are a Rajya Sabha MP, may be you are not inconvenienced, but poor men are facing issues due to LPG crisis. You remained quiet when AAP asked you to raise the issue of LPG cylinder," she said.

She also blasted him for not standing with AAP workers who were protesting against Arvind Kejriwal's arrest.

"You were in London, you said you had to undergo an eye surgery. But today, I ask you – did you flee to London because you were scared of Modi," Atishi said, mounting her attack.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said "he is compromised" while accusing him of violating the party whip in Parliament. "Votes being cut, workers jailed in Gujarat, funds stuck in Punjab and he talks samosas," Mann said during a press conference today.

Other AAP leaders who trained guns at Chadha include MLA Kuldeep Kumar, MLA Sanjeev Jha among others.

WHY DID AAP SNUB RAGHAV CHADHA?

AAP leaders have listed a number of incidents when they say Raghav Chadha didn't stand with the party and remained MIA.

1. While Chadha has been raising issues that affect common man, like tea prices at airports, paternity leave, he has not spoken against PM Modi. AAP leaders have termed his silence as "fear of Modi" and lashed out at him for not being critical of the Central government. They slammed him for not raising issues related to LPG crisis, SIR, voter deletion.

2. AAP leaders said Chadha was not part of AAP protests when Arvind Kejriwal was arrested. Chadha was in London for his eye surgery but now AAP leaders are questioning if he was scared that he could be sent to jail.

3. At a time when the Opposition is attacking Centre for LPG crisis, Chadha has not raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha.

BJP PRAISES RAGHAV CHADHA

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Chadha should have spoken long ago and accused Kejriwal of using people.

“Raghav Chadha should have broken his silence long ago; Arvind Kejriwal has a talent, first he uses people and then gets rid of them”, says on Chadha's X post.

"The removal of Raghav Chadha from the post of Deputy Leader of the Rajya Sabha is a decision taken by his party and all parties are free to make such decisions. The objection, however, lies in the act of writing to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat requesting that Raghav Chadha be denied permission to speak. Arvind Kejriwal is a frightened, weak man; he dislikes the opposition and is intimidated by the competence of others," he added.

BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri praised Chadha for raising public issues and slammed Kejriwal for stopping Chadha from speaking.

“When I was the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Raghav Chadha was an MLA there. He used to speak well, and it was good to listen to him. Later, he moved to the Rajya Sabha, where he has continued to raise public issues. It is beyond my understanding why Arvind Kejriwal has imposed restrictions on Raghav Chadha from speaking," he said.

He added, "If a senior member and a parliamentarian is being stopped from speaking, I believe this amounts to a complete undermining of democracy. Arvind Kejriwal and his party leadership should reconsider this decision."

WHAT NEXT FOR RAGHAV CHADHA?

People are speculating that Chadha, after facing the blows from AAP, might join BJP. However, AAP's Ashok Mittal, who replaced him in Rajya Sabha, said these were just rumours and he has not sensed any discontent anywhere.

Going by his own statement, Chadha signalled that he has been silenced but not defeated.

Raghav Chadha is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab. He was elected by the Punjab Legislative Assembly in April 2022 with his term ending in April 2028.