Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has weighed in on the growing row within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), reacting sharply to the removal of Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha from the post of deputy leader in the Upper House.
On Friday, April 3, Mann alleged that Chadha was “compromised” with the BJP, suggesting that his conduct in Parliament had raised concerns within the party.
‘Leader Seems to Be Speaking From Another Station’
Defending the party’s decision, Mann said that when AAP sets priorities for issues to be raised in the Rajya Sabha, its leaders are expected to follow that line. However, he criticised Chadha for focusing on less significant matters.
“If the party decides certain issues should be raised in the Rajya Sabha, but a leader speaks about samosa prices in the canteen, it feels like he is speaking from another station,” Mann said. He added that in such situations, the party is compelled to take action.
AAP Replaces Chadha With Ashok Mittal
The controversy erupted after AAP formally wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking Chadha’s removal as deputy leader and proposed Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.
According to sources, the party also indicated in its communication that Chadha should not be allotted speaking time from AAP’s designated quota in the House. Chadha, a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab, was once considered a close confidant of party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Bharadwaj Questions Chadha’s Approach in Parliament
The internal criticism has not been limited to Mann. Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also publicly took aim at Chadha, urging him to adopt a more assertive stance against the BJP-led central government.
Responding to Chadha’s video message after his removal, Bharadwaj questioned why the MP was not raising pressing issues concerning Punjab and the country, instead focusing on what he termed “soft PR”.
“Raghav bhai, I just watched your video. We are all soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal ji. We learned only one thing: the one who gets scared is as good as dead. Our job is to raise people’s issues and question the government directly,” he said.
Bharadwaj argued that the government does not respond to “soft PR speeches” and stressed that the limited speaking time available to smaller parties in Parliament should be used to address major national concerns rather than “trivial issues”.
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