Raghav Chadha terms AAP’s allegations ‘baseless’, party hit backs, says he ignored Punjab issues

Raghav Chadha defends his role in Rajya Sabha amid AAP's accusations of silence on Punjab issues, claiming he prioritizes public concerns over chaos.

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Saturday released a video message on X, claiming that his purpose in the House is to raise public issues and not create ruckus. He also dismissed all allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and called them blatant lies.

Raghav Chadha terms AAP’s allegations ‘baseless’, party hit backs, says he ignored Punjab issues

The AAP on Friday accused him of being silent on pressing national concerns and not joining the Opposition walkouts in the House. The party replaced Chadha with Ashok Kumar Mittal as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.

Describing it as a scripted and coordinated attack against him, he rejected the claim. “It is a blatant lie. I challenge the party to present CCTV footage of a single instance in the House when I did not support the Opposition,” he said.

He said restraint should not be mistaken for fear, and that refusing to abuse, shout, or lower the standard of public discourse does not amount to weakness.

“I came to Parliament to make an impact, not create ruckus, and to raise people’s concerns,” he added.

“AAP has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs, out of whom seven did not sign it. If not signing the motion was truly the reason for the action taken against me, the same standard should have applied to everyone,” he said.

Later in the video, Chadha quoted a reference from a Bollywood movie and said, “All these lies will be unmasked. Kyunki mai ghayal hoon isiliye ghatak hoon (I am wounded, therefore I am dangerous).”

Senior AAP leaders hit back at Chadha claiming that he failed to raise Punjab’s key issues in Parliament and that critical financial and public concerns were ignored.

Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Raghav Chadha was elected to the Rajya Sabha by Punjab MLAs with the expectation that he would strongly represent the state’s concerns at national level. However, he completely avoided raising even a single sensitive issue related to Punjab.”

AAP Punjab president Aman Arora said the party was founded on the principle of fighting for people’s rights without fear, and any deviation from that path is unexpected and unacceptable.

The party spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal added, “There is deep disappointment over Raghav Chadha’s silence on the plight of flood-affected people in Punjab.”

The leaders highlighted that key issues such as ₹8,500 crore Rural Development Fund dues, ₹60,000 crore GST losses, and ₹1,600 crore flood relief were not raised despite repeated communication, calling it a betrayal of Punjab’s mandate.