'I am the recently removed deputy leader': Raghav Chadha taunts AAP from Rajya Sabha over leadership change

Raghav Chadha took a pointed swipe at his party in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, referring to himself as “the recently removed deputy leader”. The remark came amid his public fallout with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its recent decision to replace him in the House.

Raghav Chadha, the AAP MP from Punjab, used his speech in the Rajya Sabha to draw attention to his removal as the party’s deputy leader in the Upper House.

Speaking during the felicitation of Harivansh Narayan Singh after his unopposed re-election as deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Chadha said, “I am the recently removed deputy leader, and I am present in the House,” in a clear dig at his party’s leadership.

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He also said the leader of the party he belongs to was not present in the House, apparently referring to senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh. He added that the newly-appointed deputy leader of the party, Ashok Kumar Mittal, was also absent.

Mittal, an industrialist-politician and fellow Punjab MP, replaced Chadha after AAP wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on April 2.

Chadha aims to turn 'khatta-meetha' into 'meetha-meetha'

In his remarks, Chadha congratulated Harivansh and described his personal equation with the deputy chair as “khatta-meetha”, while expressing hope that the relationship would turn “sweet” in this term. He also praised Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairperson CP Radhakrishnan, saying more members were now getting a chance to speak during Zero Hour.

Hindustan Times reported that Raghav Chadha has this month gone from being AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha to one of its most publicly attacked sitting MPs, with colleagues accusing him of being “compromised” and aligned with the BJP-led Centre. The dispute intensified after AAP removed him from the post, while Chadha responded on social media with messages, including, “Don’t mistake my silence for my defeat.”

More important to raise the big issues

"Somebody gifted me a book this week... I turned to chapter 1—'Never outshine the master.' Some books arrive exactly when they are meant to," he posted on Instagram. The book: 'The 48 Laws of Power' has been penned by American author Robert Greene.

AAP leaders have since escalated their criticism, with Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj accusing Chadha of “soft PR” in the Parliament.

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"Because a small party has very limited time in Parliament, if someone is raising the issue of samosas during that time, it is more important to raise the big issues of the country," Bharadwaj was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of Punjab, from where Chadha is an MP, responded directly to whether Chadha was "compromised". He said emphatically, "Yes!"