Raghav ChadhaThe outburst against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership was not surprising. Chadha has been considered a close friend of the AAP supremo for a long time. Arvind Kejriwaldisagreeing with the party’s top leadership. Raghav Chadha’s silence and his absence from some of the party’s key moments, including the recent court relief against Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, have added to his growing distance from the AAP.Breaking pointOn Thursday, the internal rift that had been simmering for nearly a year finally erupted when the AAP “demoted” Raghav Chadha and removed him from his post as deputy leader of the House of Representatives. But the real sting was not just the replacement but the AAP’s demand to the Lok Sabha secretariat that Chadha should no longer be allotted speaking time in the party’s official quota.A day later, Raghav reacted strongly to the party’s move, sparking a public war of words. In a strongly worded video message, Raghav questioned the party’s decision and claimed he was “silenced, not defeated”.“Whenever I get an opportunity, I raise people’s issues in Parliament, including topics that are often ignored. But does talking about people’s issues constitute an offense? Have I committed any crime? AAP has informed Parliament that I should not be given a chance to speak. I want to tell them not to consider my silence as a failure,” Raghav Chadha said in the video, which includes a series of short clips taken from his recent speech in the House of Commons.
What Raghav Chadha said
Chadha also attacked the party leadership for “demotion” and publicly said: “Do not consider my silence as my failure.I am like that river that will turn into a flood when the time comes. “‘Fear, compromise’: How Kejriwal’s ‘soldiers’ fight backHours after Raghav’s lash out, AAP leaders hit back with all their might, saying their colleagues were “scared and compromised”.Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Chadha failed to adhere to the party line on some issues in the Assembly and did not join the opposition’s walkout on key issues.“Whenever the opposition went on strike in Parliament, you (Chadhar) did not participate. You did not raise issues regarding Punjab, from which you were elected, and you were hiding in foreign countries when former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested,” Bhardwaj said.“We are all Arvind Kejriwal’s soldiers and the Center doesn’t care about soft PR or talking about samosas in airport canteens when bigger issues are at stake. Since smaller parties have very limited time in Parliament, it is more important to raise the country’s big issues than to raise trivial issues. “Referring to the impeachment motion moved by the opposition parties against Chief Election Commissioner Janesh Kumar, Bharadwaj said Chadha refused to sign the motion.
What did AAP say?
“Whenever there is an issue of opposition quitting, you don’t quit. For a long time, I have not seen you raising any question in the House questioning the Prime Minister or the BJP government,” he said, further asking how the “politics of fear” would work.Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann lashed out saying he believed Raghav Chadha was “compromised” and noted that he had gone against the party whip.Mann said that if Chadha was unwilling to speak out on issues such as the “deletion” of votes in West Bengal, to walk out of Parliament on important issues, or to oppose the arrest of several AAP volunteers and leaders in Gujarat, then it was against the party line and the party whip.On Chadha’s remarks about being “silenced”, Mann said if there is a party line on any issue, like in Gujarat, where 160 AAP volunteers and leaders have been booked, if anyone wants to speak, it is on MSP, GST and other issues.“But if someone brought up the issue of samosas prices, pizza delivery, instead of talking about these issues, wouldn’t you suspect that this person (Chadha) was speaking on some other station?” he said.
Raghav Chadha’s AAP journey so far
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda said Chadha “has been scared for the past few years” and was hesitant to speak out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“In Gujarat, hundreds of our workers have been arrested by the BJP police – will the honorable member say anything in the House? In West Bengal, voting rights are being taken away… In the last few years, you have been scared, Raghav. You were hesitant to speak out against Modi. You were hesitant to talk about the real problems of the country,” Danda said.Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Delhi and AAP leader Atishi also questioned Raghav Chadha for failing to raise issues concerning civilians amid a national crisis and severe shortage of LPG. She alleged that Raghav Chadha was hesitant to support the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).Atishi posted a video onAtish turned the focus to economic discontent, stressing: “Today, the most significant crisis facing the common man is the shortage of LPG. You are an influential person and may not face these difficulties, but an ordinary citizen has difficulty even cooking for his children. “Where is Raghav Chadha?The rift between Chadha and AAP did not emerge just yesterday. They have been expanding for nearly two years. One of the biggest annoyances for AAP seems to be Chadha’s absence at crucial moments.The first clear sign of a possible rift came in March 2024, when Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the excise tax policy case. The reason for Chadha’s absence is that he is undergoing treatment for an eye ailment in London. His long absence during the party’s darkest hour became a major talking point.While leaders like Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia are about to be jailed, Chadha’s absence from important press conferences and protest venues has not gone unnoticed.In his video address, Bharadwaj highlighted Chadha’s absence, accusing him of being absent during the crisis within the party.“All our leaders were in jail… and you were not in the country at the time; you were hiding somewhere,” he said.There was jubilation at the AAP headquarters last month when a Delhi court granted significant relief to Kejriwal and Sisodia. However, Raghav Chadha remained silent – no tweets, no visits and no press conferences.punjabi factorChadha was once known as the architect of AAP’s victory in Punjab in 2022, but Chadha gradually withdrew from state affairs. Subsequently, AAP won 92 of the 117 assembly seats. There were reports that his “Delhi-style” way of operating did not sit well with the state leadership and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Many believed that he acted as a “super CM”, which eventually led to his exit from Punjab politics.Punjab will go to polls next year and for AAP, which has already lost Delhi, a defeat in the state would mean the party will lose the government. Chopping Raghav Chadha’s wings ahead of next year’s general elections could be part of the AAP’s strategy to ensure that he is not exploited by opponents during the elections.For raising ‘aam aadmi’ questionChadha, on the other hand, claimed that he was targeted because he was doing exactly what the party’s name suggested – raising the “aam aadmi” issue.When he was replaced as deputy leader of the House of Federation, he did not issue a statement but instead released a video compilation of questions he raised in parliament.In the House of Commons, Chadha has largely avoided direct political attacks, focusing instead on issues that connect with the public: middle-class taxation, data updates, rights for gig workers, paternity leave, menstrual hygiene, air baggage rules and “sarpanch pati” issues.He even briefly served as a delivery partner to highlight concerns about the gig economy.What’s next for Raghav Chadha?Raghav Chadha may be about to quit the Aam Aadmi Party. Today’s outburst on both sides shows that the differences have reached a point of no return and that bridges may have been burned. If Chadha does decide to resign, he will join a long list of leaders who started with Kejriwal in 2012 but ultimately fell apart. He will follow the path already traveled by leaders like Kailash Gahlot, Raaj Kumar Anand, Sushil Kumar Rinku, HS Phoolka, Rajesh Gupta, Vandana Gaur, Rohit Mehraulia and Girish Soni.
Timeline of AAP’s internal rift
Interestingly, both the BJP and the Congress have responded to the crisis within the AAP in their own way.Congress leader Udit Raj questioned Raghav Chadha’s indirect attack on Aam Aadmi Party. Challenging Chadha’s stance, Raj claimed that “there should be absolutely no silence” on the issue, stating that “silence makes no sense at all” on this particular issue.“There should be absolutely no silence here. Silence means nothing at all on this particular issue. If Raghav Chadha enters politics – and he does raise public issues – then he should clarify the matter. If the party had done nothing wrong, he should have spoken out. He also had to answer the question: Who shut him up? “Raj said.The Congress has huge interests in Punjab, which it lost to AAP in 2022. The great old party will be happy to see AAP weakened and divided as it prepares to take back the state in 2027. But the focus may have been more on the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was quick to launch a blistering attack on AAP. Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva accused Arvind Kejriwal of running the party in a “dictatorial” manner.“Removing the deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha is an internal decision of a political party and any political party has the freedom to take such a decision. However, the BJP directed the Rajya Sabha secretariat that Raghav Chadha should not be allowed to speak and should not be given time to speak, which is undemocratic,” the Delhi BJP president said.Sachdeva directly attacked Kejriwal, claiming that the AAP chief cannot tolerate dissent within and outside the party. “This reflects the authoritarianism of Arvind Kejriwal because he is a fearful and weak man. He does not like any opposition – within his own party or outside it – especially those who have the courage to speak out,” Sachdeva said.AAP has accused the BJP of “actively promoting” Raghav Chadha. AAP leader reveals what might happen next Saurabh Bhardwaj Raghav Chadha was said to be “always hesitant” whenever the party wanted to raise issues against the central government in Parliament.“The Election Commission seems to be fully cooperating with the central government. Who has the responsibility to raise objections on this? Isn’t it the responsibility of the members of Parliament? Whenever such issues need to be raised in Parliament, Raghav Chadha is always hesitant. He doesn’t even want to mention the central government…BJP actively promotes Raghav Chadha. His supporters amplified his social media posts. Why do they do this? Parliament should be a forum to debate serious issues and find solutions… If you give in to fear, your political career is effectively over,” the AAP leader said.The BJP has been desperately trying to expand its base in the state after parting ways with the Akalis in Punjab. It has roped in several senior leaders from the Congress party, including former state chief minister Captain Amrinder Singh. It will be interesting to see if the saffron party is open to any future association with Raghav Chadha if the AAP leader decides to ditch his party and start a new politburo.
 leadership does not come as a surprise. For quite some time now, Chadha, who was once considere.){kind=link}