The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday demoted Raghav Chadha and removed him from the post of deputy leader in Rajya Sabha. This internal rift had been brewing for almost a year as the AAP also requested the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Chadha should no longer be allotted speaking time from party’s official quota. The party alleged that Raghav was not raising real issues in the Parliament. 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 next day, Raghav reacted strongly to the party’s move triggering an open war of words. He posted a video on social media questioning party’s decision and asserting that he had been “silenced, not defeated”. Raghav added a series of short clips drawn from his recent speeches in Rajya Sabha. “Whenever I get a chance, I raise issues concerning the people in Parliament, including topics that are often overlooked. But is it an offence to talk about people’s problems? Did I commit any crime? AAP has informed Parliament that I should not be given a chance to speak. I would like to tell them, do not take my silence for defeat,” Raghav said in the video.
While AAP continued to attack on Chadha, the BJP praised the MP for speaking up and accused Arvind Kejriwal of using people and then getting rid of them. The BJP also lauded him for raising public issues and also praised his Rajya Sabha speeches. AAP said that Chadha is afraid of speaking against Prime Minister Modi, and has wasted his parliamentary time discussing prices of samosas instead of highlighting national issues. There are speculations that Raghav might join BJP but there is no certainty as of now. 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.
