Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has advised Raghav Chadha to fearlessly question the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government on bigger issues instead of using Parliament’s limited time for “soft PR” and talk of “samosas”.
Bharadwaj made the remarks in a video message in response to Raghav Chadha’s first statement on AAP’s move to remove him from the post of party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.
The decision taken on Thursday to oust Raghav Chadha from the Rajya Sabha post and replace him with Ashok Mittal has sparked speculation of an internal rift in the party. While Chadha remained silent on Thursday, he shared a video message on Friday asking whether it was a “crime” to raise public interest issues in Parliament.
Raghav Chadha often makes headlines for raising issues affecting the masses in the House. “Shut up and don’t be defeated…my message to Aam Aadmi,” Raghav Chadha captioned his video.
“Stop soft PR”
Reacting to Chadha’s video, Bharadwaj asked the Punjab Rajya Sabha MP why he was “afraid” to raise state issues and was instead talking about “samosas” in the Rajya Sabha.
“Raghav bhai, I just watched your video. We are all soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal ji. We have learned only one thing – a person who feels fear is like death. Our job was to raise people’s issues and look into the eyes of the government while questioning them,” Bharadwaj said in his video reply.
He said that it has been observed over the past few days that whoever raises serious issues against the government, questions it, or speaks on behalf of the people is treated as an enemy, adding that the exemption is not concerned with “soft public relations issues.”
“The government is behaving like a dictator – banning people on social media platforms, be it Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. FIRs are being filed and cases are being registered. The government is not interested in soft PR rhetoric in Parliament. Since small parties get very limited time to speak in Parliament, this time should be used to raise important national issues rather than trivial matters,” he said.
“Being soft doesn’t make a difference.”
Accusing Chadha of not joining the opposition bloc in the proceedings against the government, Bharadwaj said: “Across the country, we have seen that before elections, names of real voters are removed and fraudulent votes are created, allowing the government to dishonestly take over the system and win the elections. The same is happening in West Bengal. Recently, when the opposition parties tried to submit a motion to remove the Chief Election Commissioner, they refused to sign it.”
“When the opposition walks out of Parliament over an issue, you do not join the strike. For a long time, I have not seen you raise any issue in Parliament where you directly question the Prime Minister or the BJP government. How can politics work under such fear?”
He asked him: “You represent Punjab, and you must raise Punjab’s issues. Why are you afraid to raise these issues?”
“In Gujarat, nearly 160 party workers faced false cases and FIRs were registered against them; many of them were arrested, yet you remained silent. When many of our leaders were in jail and Arvind Kejriwal ji was arrested as chief minister in what we believe to be a false case, you were not even in the country – you went away and remained in hiding,” he said.
In his opinion, Bharadwaj said, real national issues should be raised with courage and courage.
“You have to look into the BJP’s eyes and question it. Otherwise, being soft doesn’t make any difference,” he said.
In fact, the BJP has been supporting you on social media since yesterday, Bharadwaj said, asking Chadha to think – where he “started”, where he “is” now, “what the country needs” and how he “can do better”.
AAP’s national information officer Anurag Dhanda also echoed similar sentiments, accusing Raghav Chadha of being reluctant to speak out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and talking about making samosas, an Indian snack, cheaper instead.
“We are Kejriwal’s soldiers. Courage is our first identity. If someone fears Modi, will he fight for the country? In Parliament, the party gets little time to speak – where we can either fight to save the nation or lobby to make samosas cheaper in the airport canteen,” Dhanda said on Channel X.
“For the past few years, you have been afraid, Raghav,” Dhanda said, adding: “You are reluctant to speak out against Modi. “You are reluctant to talk about the real issues of the country.”
