(Image source from: PTI)
Minutes after causing a major political shift by stating that he and six other AAP Rajya Sabha members were leaving the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to join the BJP, Raghav Chadha disclosed what he termed the "true reason" for this choice. Speaking at a press conference on Friday alongside two fellow MPs, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Chadha - who was recently demoted from his role as Deputy Leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha - did not hold back when he discussed the party he had been a part of since it started in 2012. "You have been asking me for a long time why I did not engage in AAP's activities and seemed to keep my distance. I never spoke up before and kept trying to improve things. But today, I will share the real reason: I didn’t want to be associated with their wrongdoings. I felt unworthy of their friendship as I did not take part in their crimes," stated the 37-year-old MP.
Chadha pointed out that he and the other MPs faced two choices: either leave politics entirely and abandon their work from the past "15-16 years" or leverage their skills and experience to pursue "positive politics. "
"So, we have chosen to act as two-thirds of the AAP members in the Rajya Sabha, using the rules of the Constitution of India to join the BJP," he declared. "The Aam Aadmi Party has moved away from its foundational beliefs, ethics, and values, focusing on its own interests instead of serving the country. Many of you have remarked on this, and I too have sensed that I belong in the right place but with the wrong party," Chadha asserted. The AAP holds 10 seats in the Rajya Sabha, and having six MPs join him means Chadha will not violate the anti-defection law, which does not apply if two-thirds of a party’s lawmakers - in this case, seven of the 10 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs - choose to merge with another party. Alongside Mittal and Pathak, Chadha mentioned that the other MPs joining the BJP include Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahney. "We have signed and submitted the document to the Rajya Sabha chairman announcing our decision to merge with the BJP," he stated.
In response, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh - one of the three remaining members in the party with Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal and ND Gupta - criticized Chadha and the others, labeling them as "traitors. " "Think about it: the party helped Raghav Chadha become an MLA and an MP - what did the party not provide him? The people of Punjab sent him to the Rajya Sabha with great support, and yet he has now allied with the BJP," Singh remarked. AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal gave a brief, one-line reply to Chadha’s announcement.
