Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha shared his first message after being removed from the AAP’s Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader post. In a video, he questioned the party leadership, asking why he was being “silenced.”
He said, “I have always raised people’s issues. Have I done something wrong?”
In the video, he addressed the AAP leadership, saying, “The Aam Aadmi Party has asked the Rajya Sabha not to allow me, Raghav Chadha, to speak. But why? I have always spoken for the common man. I have raised issues such as high food prices at airports, overcharging by telecom companies, toll plaza and bank-related concerns, and the problems faced by gig workers. By raising these issues, the common people have benefited. But what has the AAP lost? Why am I being silenced?”
Chadha’s message came a day after the AAP wrote to the Rajya Sabha secretariat, requesting the appointment of Ashok Mittal as his replacement as Deputy Leader in the Upper House. However, party insiders told The Indian Express that the party had not asked for any reduction in Chadha’s speaking time as a Member of Parliament.
Sources within the party also indicated that Chadha is unlikely to face formal suspension and may continue as one of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs for now.
Signs of the party’s discontent had been visible for some time. Last week, Chadha—once considered a close aide of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal—was absent from the AAP’s list of star campaigners for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal.
The development comes amid Chadha’s prolonged absence from party activities and his silence on several issues seen as important for the party. He has also missed a number of public engagements led by Kejriwal. While sources said there was no single trigger for the decision, they noted that the party had been holding off action for some time, making the timing somewhat unexpected.
According to party insiders, Chadha was also absent during key moments, including the show of unity after Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were discharged in the excise policy case in late February. They added that he had increasingly distanced himself from the party leadership. Notably, while thanking party leaders and their families, Kejriwal did not mention Chadha.
