Raghav Chadha And Six Other Rajya Sabha MPs Quit AAP; Join BJP

Hyderabad: Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said that two-thirds of the members belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Rajya Sabha exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Addressing a press conference with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Kumar Mittal in New Delhi, Chadha said, "There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha, more than 2/3rd of them are with us in this. They have signed, and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman... 3 of them are here before you. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal."

Chadha announced that he is leaving the party, saying it has strayed from its core moral values and no longer works for the nation. He said some people told him he was "the right man in the wrong party".

He added that he was a founding member who nurtured the party with his blood and sweat, but today "it has become corrupt". He will now work with Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah's vision for the country.

Another Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak, said that he had never thought that this situation would arise, but it has. "For 10 years, I remained associated with this party. And today, I am parting ways with the Aam Aadmi Party," Pathak said.

Subsequently, six of these MPs, except for Swati Maliwal, met BJP president Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters and joined the saffron party.

Meanwhile, in another press meet, AAP MP Sanjay Singh lashed out at the 7 MPs who quit the party. "We entrusted big responsibilities to Sandeep Pathak, and with the blessings of the Punjab people, we sent him to the Rajya Sabha. Prof Ashok Kumar Mittal runs Lovely Professional University. These seven people... have backstabbed the people of Punjab. The people of Punjab will not spare them," Sanjay Singh told reporters.

"A good government is working in Punjab. And a game of Operation Lotus is being played with the Punjab government. ED and CBI are being used. ED raided the premises of Prof Ashok Kumar Mittal. The dots can be connected," Singh said.

Taking to X, in response to the issue, Former Delhi Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia said that the Rajya Sabha members have bowed down before the BJP. They have betrayed "the people of Punjab due to their personal compulsions, fear, and greed, should know that Punjab never forgives traitors."