E-Paper
Rajya Sabha chair accepts Raghav Chadha, other AAP rebels' BJP merger: ‘Welcome to nation-building NDA’
Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta, left the AAP and merged with the BJP.
Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan has accepted the BJP merger announced by MP Raghav Chadha, along with six others who left the AAP last week. The BJP's total tally in Rajya Sabha has now climbed to 113, with names of Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta now featuring in the party's list.
Taking to X, union minister Kiren Rijiju announced the Rajya Sabha chair's nod to the merger. “Welcome to nation building NDA under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and good bye to Tukde-Tukde INDI Alliance,” Rijiju wrote, hitting out at the AAP.
BJP's praise for new MPs
Rijiju heaped praise on the newly-inducted members of the BJP and said they never indulged in un-Parliamentary conduct. “For a long time I've observed that these 7 Honb'le MPs have not resorted to abusive languages and never created any indiscipline and Un-Parliamentary conducts,” Rijiju wrote on X.
Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and other Rajya Sabha MPs had on April 24 announced their departure from the AAP, dealing a huge blow to the party. The AAP's Rajya Sabha arithmetic witnessed a massive shake-up with the move, reducing the party's tally in the House to only three.
Of the seven MPs who quit the party, six were from Punjab, leaving behind just one lawmaker from the state for AAP - Balbir Singh Seechewal.
Raghav Chadha blames AAP's ‘toxic’ work environment
Raghav Chadha continued to keep up his attack on the AAP on Monday, releasing a new video detailing reasons for leaving the party he had co-founded and was associated with for years.
“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.
Chadha also said that he contemplated other moves, like leaving politics altogether or staying in AAP and trying to “fix it”, before he finally decided to join hands with the BJP.
“One or two people can be wrong, but can seven people be wrong?,” Chadha asked. He also questioned people what they would do if their workplace is toxic.
