Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday hit out at the Arvind Kejriwal-led party a day after being dropped as its deputy leader in Rajya Sabha as a feud between the two spilled out into the open.
In a video message on X, Raghav Chadha alleged that this was an attempt to stop him from speaking in Parliament and asked whether it was a ‘crime’ to raise public issues in Parliament.
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“Whenever I get a chance to speak in Parliament, I raise public issues. I raise topics that are rarely discussed in Parliament. Is it a crime to raise the issues of the people or to speak on public issues? Have I done something wrong? I am asking this question today because Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has asked the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop Raghav Chadha from speaking in Parliament,” he said.
On Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat requesting that Raghav Chadha be removed as its Deputy Leader in the House, proposing Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as his successor.
“Why would someone want to stop me from speaking? I always speak for ‘aam aadmi’ (common man). I spoke about expensive food being sold at airports, and raised issues of gig workers. I raised the issue of food adulteration. Raked up issues of toll plaza and bank loots, taxpayers, prepaid mobile plans and many others in the Rajya Sabha. These discussions helped aam aadmi, but how did these issues affect Aam Aadmi Party?” he asked.
In a stern statement to those behind his Rajya Sabha snub, Chadha said, “I am silenced, not defeated”.
Once seen as a trusted aide of Arvind Kejriwal and one of the country’s youngest parliamentarians, Raghav Chadha held significant responsibilities within the party, especially in Punjab and throughout the AAP’s tenure in Delhi.
AAP leaders have refuted the claims that Chadha was prevented from speaking in Parliament under the quota of the party MPs.
“Everyone gets time to speak in our party; it is a democratic process. Raghav Chadha will also be given time to speak in the Rajya Sabha in the future,” Mittal said.
The development followed Chadha’s extended silence on AAP-related issues and his absence from multiple Kejriwal-led events. He is now the second AAP Rajya Sabha MP, after Swati Maliwal, to have a sour relationship with the party leadership.
Notably, Chadha was abroad for medical reasons when Arvind Kejriwal and other top AAP leaders were arrested in connection with the excise policy case in March 2024. Recently, he remained silent even after Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia and others were discharged by a Delhi court in the excise case.
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Published By:
Karishma Saurabh Kalita
Published On:
Apr 3, 2026 10:17 IST
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