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Raghav Chadha, 6 other Rajya Sabha AAP MPs ‘merge’ with BJP in tactical move
Raghav Chadha news: The move comes days after the AAP removed Raghav Chadha as the deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha said on Friday that the two-third members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha are merging themselves with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India.
The decision, a move to ensure retention of Rajya Sabha membership, comes days after the AAP removed him as the deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha over allegations of not raising key issues against the government and doing “soft PR” instead.
Raghav Chadha made the announcement in a press conference two more MPs he said are part of the merger — Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. Interestingly, Ashok Mittal is who the AAP picked as the replacement of Raghav Chadha for the Rajya Sabha deputy leader post. Track Raghav Chadha news updates here
The math behind the move
There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha and, according to Raghav Chadha, more than two-third of them are part of the decision — a figure needed for the MPs to retain their membership in the upper house.
“They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha chairman, Chadha said, adding that the other four AAP MPs who have agreed for the move are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal.”
"The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat, and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals. Now this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits...For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to public," Chadha said, addressing the press conference with Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.
Detailing on the reason behind distancing himself from party activities, Raghav Chadha said he did so because he does not “want to be a part of AAP's crimes".
“I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options - either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience,” Chadha said in the press conference.
