‘BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis’: Arvind Kejriwal hits out after Raghav Chadha leads AAP MP exit

Arvind Kejriwal reacted sharply on Friday after Raghav Chadha and six other Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs announced that they were leaving the party and moving to the BJP.

In a post on X, the AAP chief said, “The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis,” as the developments unfolded in New Delhi.

Seven AAP MPs claim support for merger

The announcement was made at a press conference by Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, and Ashok Mittal, who said seven of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs had signed on to the move.

Chadha said, “In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative,” adding that the signed letters and other formal papers had been submitted to the Rajya Sabha chairman. The group named in the report also included Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahney.

Also Read | Who are the prominent leaders who have walked out of Aam Aadmi Party over the years?

Chadha says AAP abandoned its founding principles

Chadha framed the split as a break with AAP’s original political line. He said, “AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and to which I gave 15 years of my youth, has completely strayed from its principles, values, and core morals,” and added, “I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party.” He also said he would move away from AAP and work more closely with the public.

The move came soon after Chadha was removed as AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.

NDTV noted that the announcement also invoked the anti-defection law, which allows a merger to be recognised only if at least two-thirds of a party’s legislators agree, a threshold the report said the group had crossed.

Also Read | Inside Raghav Chadha’s life: Net worth, education, family — all you need to know

Importance of 2/3rds

India’s anti-defection statute is found in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, adopted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985, and it applies to members of Parliament and state legislatures.

Under it, an elected member can face disqualification if they voluntarily give up membership of the party on whose ticket they were elected or if they vote or abstain from voting contrary to the party whip.

The law does, however, make an exception for a merger: if at least two-thirds of the members of a legislative party agree to merge with another party, the move can be protected from disqualification. In cases of disqualification, the final decision is taken by the Speaker or Chairman of the House, subject to judicial review.