The ongoing feud between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Raghav Chadha shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Hours after Chadha released a video message detailing his reasons for switching to the BJP, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also released a video in which he refuted his former colleague’s claims of a “toxic work environment”.
Chadda’s marriage to actor Parineeti Chopra was also mentioned in Bharadwaj’s counterattack.
The AAP MLA said Chadha was not facing criticism for leaving the party but for hatching a “conspiracy” against it. “The party that gave you everything… you are even married because this party made you a member of the Rajya Sabha,” Bharadwaj said.
Raghav Chadha and Parineeti Chopra got married in a private ceremony at Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur in September 2023. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were also present at their wedding.
Notably, the actress had come out in support of her husband when he was replaced as deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha recently. She reshared a clip showing Raghav Chadha raising important issues in Parliament.
“Even when you switch jobs…”
In a video shared this morning, Raghav Chadha likened his exit from AAP to an employee leaving a “toxic” workplace.
In response, Bharadwaj said that “ideology” does not matter when you switch companies but it does when you change political parties.
While he agreed that Chadha had every right to leave the party, he said, “Even when you switch jobs you give three months’ notice to your landlord for a smooth transition.”
He also added, “Though it is not the same, but even when people change jobs, they do not hatch a conspiracy against their parent company. For more than a year, Raghav conspired with the BJP central government to create a neutral image of a young politician raising middle-class issues.”
What did Raghav Chadha say?
Days after seven MPs, including himself, announced their exit from the AAP, Raghav Chadha launched a fresh attack on the party, detailing his reasons for switching to the BJP.
“I gave this party 15 years of my entrepreneurial youth… However, this party has remained intact for much longer. You get stopped for doing your job, or from speaking in Parliament. This party has now fallen into the hands of a few corrupt people working for personal gain. I felt like I was the right person in the wrong party,” Chadha said.
Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan approved the merger of the BJP comprising Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahni, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta, taking the number of Rajya Sabha MPs to 113.
