The ongoing rift between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Raghav Chadha shows no signs of easing anytime soon. Hours after Chadha issued a video message detailing his reasons for a switch to the BJP, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also posted a video in which he rebutted his former colleague's “toxic work environment" claims.
Chadha's marriage to actor Parineeti Chopra also found mention in Bharadwaj's counter-attack.
The AAP MLA said that Chadha was not facing criticism for leaving the party but for hatching “a conspiracy” against it. “A party that gave you everything… You are even married because this party made you a Rajya Sabha member,” Bharadwaj said.
Raghav Chadha and Parineeti Chopra tied the knot in a private ceremony in Udaipur's Taj Lake Palace in September 2023. Their wedding was also attended by former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
Notably, the actor had come out in support of her husband when he was replaced as AAP's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha recently. She had re-shared a clip that showed Raghav Chadha raising important issues in Parliament.
‘Even when you switch jobs…’
In a video posted this morning, Raghav Chadha had likened his exit from the AAP to an employee leaving a “toxic” workplace.
{{/usCountry}}In a video posted this morning, Raghav Chadha had likened his exit from the AAP to an employee leaving a “toxic” workplace.
{{/usCountry}}In response, Bharadwaj said that "ideology" didn't factor when switching companies but it does when switching political parties.
While he agreed that Chadha had all the right to leave a party, but said: “Even when you switch jobs you give a three-month notice to your owner for a smooth transition.”
He further added, “Though it’s not the same but even when people switch jobs, they don’t hatch conspiracy against their parent company. For more than a year, Raghav conspired with BJP’s Central Govt to create a neutral image of a young politician who raises middle class issues,” Bharadwaj said.
What did Raghav Chadha say?
Days after announced the exit of seven MPs, including himself, from the AAP, Raghav Chadha launched a fresh attack on the party, detailing reasons why he switched to the BJP.
“I gave this party 15 years of my prime youth…However, this party is longer the same. You're stopped for doing your work, from speaking in Parliament. This party is now caught up in the hands of a corrupt few who work for personal gains. I felt like I was the right person in the wrong party,” Chadha said.
Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan has accepted the BJP merger of Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta, taking the party's Rajya Sabha MPs tally to 113.