New Delhi: Internal divisions Raghav Chadha The AAP supremo also came to light on Thursday after the party appointed Ashok Mittal to replace him as deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.In a letter to the Lok Sabha secretariat, the AAP requested that Chadha’s speaking time not be allocated from the party’s quota in the Upper House.
What led to this decision?Chadha was reportedly sidelined for alleged indiscipline and not strictly adhering to the party line.Interestingly, Chadha has not issued any statement after his recent dismissal Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in money laundering cases related to liquor consumption policy. Kejriwal was also absent from the party office when he later arrived to address a press conference.Amid Kejriwal’s arrest in the liquor policy case ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chadha did not make any remarks, claiming that he was recovering from an eye surgery in the UK.Last week, when there were speculations that Chadha might switch to the BJP ahead of the elections punjab electionHowever, AAP leader Sanjay Singh played down the possibility. “If you are within a party, within a family, then internal issues are resolved through discussion. If it comes to that, we will deal with it,” he said.Ashok Mittal, the new deputy leader of the House of Representatives, described Chadha’s ouster as a normal party procedure and said there was no specific reason behind it.Mittal, a member of Parliament from Punjab, told a press conference that he was not aware of rumors that Chadha might join the BJP. He added that Chadha would still have time to address the House of Commons:“Everyone has time to speak in our party; it is a democratic process. Raghav Chadha will also have time to speak in the House of Commons in the future.”Mittal insisted that the AAP was a democratic party and gave its leaders responsibility. He said the party will decide Chadha’s role in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.Meanwhile, BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the replacement of MP Raghav Chadha as deputy leader of the House of Representatives reflected the anarchy of Arvind Kejriwal.Sachdeva said Chadha was not only replaced as the deputy leader of the Upper House, but the AAP even urged the Cabinet Secretariat not to allow him time to speak in the House.The Delhi BJP chief added that it was clear that Chadha was paying the price for distancing himself from the anarchic and corrupt leadership of AAP convener Kejriwal. He said first AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and now her party member and MP Raghav Chadha were clearly facing abuse from a “weak” Kejriwal who did not have the courage to face political opposition from within the party or from rival parties.Raghav Chadha is a member of the Lok Sabha from Punjab and has been associated with the AAP since its inception. He began his career working on the Delhi Lokpal Bill with Arvind Kejriwal in 2012 and rose quickly within the party to become the national spokesperson and later the party’s youngest treasurer after AAP’s victory in the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls.
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Will you support Raghav Chadha if he chooses to join the BJP?
He contested the 2019 South Delhi Lok Sabha elections but lost to Ramesh Bidhuri and then won the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections from Rajendra Nagar. Chadha later served as deputy chairman of the Delhi Jal board. In 2022, at the age of 33, he became the youngest member of the Lok Sabha and played a key role in AAP’s parliamentary and organizational affairs along with leaders such as Manish Sisodia and Bhagwant Mann.In 2023, the AAP appointed him as leader of the Lok Sabha, replacing Sanjay Singh. Chadha regularly raises key public issues in the House.
