Raghav says he won’t be intimidated, AAP top brass says he’s addicted to ‘soft PR’

New Delhi: A day after he sacked Raghav Chadha as deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, he declared that he would not be intimidated by attempts to silence him, sparking a backlash from his colleagues.Senior AAP members accused Chadha of being afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not raising issues related to the party’s stance. They mentioned that he failed to sign the notice seeking the removal of central executive member Gyanesh Kumar and violated the party line when he went on strike over the House issue. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Lok Sabha leader Sanjay Singh, opposition leaders in Delhi and Atishi accused Chadha of engaging in “soft PR” in Parliament. When asked by reporters if he believed Chadha was compromised, Mann responded: “Yes.”

Mann questions Raghav’s focus: “Are samosas for serious issues?”

Mann criticized Raghav Chadha for raising issues such as the price of samosas at the airport while ignoring the core issues of AAP’s priorities and accused him of deviating from the party line.“If the party raises specific issues like deletion of valid votes (West Bengal), 160 AAP leaders and volunteers booked in Gujarat, or issues in Punjab like attempts to polarize communities, MSPs, withholding of GST funds or rural development funds by the Center but someone raises the issue of samosas or pizza delivery timings at the airport, doesn’t it make one suspect that he is speaking on a different radio station?” Mann said. AAP leaders mocked their estranged colleagues, “Jo Dar Dar Gaya Samjho Mar Gaya” (Those who live in fear are like dead).The melee started after Chadha, who is the Punjab MP since 2022, posted a video message on X. “To those who have robbed me of my right to speak in Parliament, I say, do not consider my silence as a failure. I am that river, which may then turn into a devastating flood,” he warned.A member of the Bundestag asked whether it was a crime to talk about ordinary people’s issues in parliament. “Today, I am raising this issue because the AAP told the Lok Sabha secretariat that Raghav Chadha should not be given time to speak in the Lok Sabha. Now, why would anyone want to stop me from speaking? he asked and went on to list the various issues he raised, ranging from expensive food at airports, issues faced by food delivery riders to taxes on the middle class.Sanjay Singh questioned Chadha’s silence on many issues – from LPG cylinders to vote rigging in West Bengal, attacks on rights in Punjab and atrocities faced by AAP volunteers in Gujarat. “Raghav Chadha is silent on all these issues. I want to tell him that we are the foot soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal who taught us to stand up to Modi fearlessly.”Talking about Kejriwal’s arrest in March 2024, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that while party leaders took to the streets in protest and faced detention, questions were raised over Chadha’s absence. “We defended you then… but today, even I want to ask, when Kejriwal was arrested, were you afraid of the BJP and therefore fled to London out of fear?” she lashed out.