AAP MP Raghav Chadha has hit back at allegations following his removal as the party's Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, calling it a 'coordinated attack' and denying claims he refused to walk out of Parliament or sign an impeachment motion.
Chadha Calls Allegations a 'Coordinated Attack'
In a post on X, Chadha said a scripted campaign was being run against him. "Since yesterday, a scripted campaign has been going on against me. Same language, same words, same allegations. This is no coincidence, but a coordinated attack. At first, I thought I shouldn't respond. Then I thought that if a lie is repeated 100 times, some people might believe it. So, I decided to respond," he said.
Denial of Specific Allegations
Chadha denied the two key allegations levelled against him by the AAP and called them a blatant lie and said that no Aam Aadmi Party leader asked him to sign the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. "The first allegation is that when the opposition walks out of Parliament, Raghav Chadha remains seated there. He does not walk out. This is a blatant lie. The second allegation was that Raghav Chadha refused to sign the impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner, the petition to remove him. Another blatant lie. No Aam Aadmi Party leader asked me to sign this motion -- neither formally nor informally", he said.
He further said that out of AAP's 10 Rajya Sabha MPs, six or seven had themselves not signed the motion. "So what is my fault in this? Why is all the blame being placed on me?" Chadha asked.
Defends Parliamentary Conduct
Defending his conduct in Parliament, the MP said, "I did not go to Parliament to create noise, shout, break the microphone, or abuse. I went there to raise public issues."
He further highlighted the public issues raised by him in the parliament. "I spoke about everything from GST to income tax, raised the issue of Punjab's water to Delhi's air, from the condition of our government schools to how to strengthen public healthcare institutions, and presented the problems of passengers traveling on Indian Railways. I even brought up menstrual health. I raised issues from unemployment to inflation. You can check my four-year track record in Parliament," he said.
I went to Parliament to create an impact, not to create a ruckus," Chadda added.
Context of the Leadership Change
The row comes after AAP sent an official letter to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on Thursday informing them that Ashok Kumar Mittal will replace Chadha as the new Deputy Leader of the AAP in the Upper House.
Raghav Chadha has also been an MP since April 2022. He has made headlines on several occasions for raising issues such as delivery gig workers' stress, menstrual hygiene and more. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)