Abduction charges fly as AAP claims councillor taken to BJP headquarters

Ram Chander, who is a councillor from Ward No 28, was one of the five members who joined the BJP last Sunday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "kidnapping" its councillor, Ram Chander, from Ward No 28, a charge denied by the BJP.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh addresses a press conference at the party office, in New Delhi. (PTI)

According to AAP leaders, Ram Chander was abducted and taken to the BJP headquarters, where he was allegedly threatened with being framed in cases involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Chander, who returned home later on Sunday, repeated these claims in a video message shared by AAP.

Chander, who had initially switched from AAP to BJP along with four other councillors last Sunday, said he had a change of heart after a dream in which he saw Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Following this, he decided to return to AAP. However, he claimed that after his return, he was targeted by BJP members.

In the video message, Chander said, "They threatened me, saying I would be framed by ED and CBI. My son, Akash, called the police helpline while our senior party leaders contacted the police commissioner. When the BJP learned about it, they sent me back home."

He added, "I want to tell BJP, I am not scared of ED and CBI. I have done nothing wrong. I am a soldier of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal."

The accusations gained traction when AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh shared a video of Chander’s son, Akash, on the social media platform. In the video, Akash claimed that his father was taken by a group of four to five individuals who threatened to implicate him in ED-CBI cases.

Senior party leader Manish Sisodia reiterated the allegations, while AAP MLA and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak accused the BJP of "making a mockery of law and order" in Delhi. Pathak warned the BJP that if Chander was not returned within the next hour, AAP would initiate a large-scale protest that would "shake the entire BJP."

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed the allegations as "lies" and "sensationalism." Kapoor asserted on X that the BJP had no interest in whether Chander was in AAP or BJP and claimed that Chander was at his residence, contrary to AAP's assertions.

This incident comes ahead of the zonal ward committee elections of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) scheduled for September 4. Both AAP and BJP have been vying for the loyalty of councillors, with both sides alleging that members of the opposing party are ready to defect.