"Gave Everything To Raghav Chadha, He Ended Up In BJP's Lap": AAP

Reacting sharply to Raghav Chadha's announcement that he and 6 other Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MPs will merge with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the AAP on Friday branded them as "traitors" and said the people of Punjab must "remember" these 7 names.

In a strongly worded remark, the party said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party made Chadha an MLA and an MP, but he ended up in the lap of the BJP.

"Consider this: the party made Raghav Chadha an MLA and an MP. What didn't the party give him? The people of Punjab gave him so much love and sent him to the Rajya Sabha, yet he has now landed in the lap of the BJP," it added.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP has once again "betrayed" the Punjabis.

Chadha said today at a press conference that two-thirds of all AAP Rajya Sabha MPs would quit the party. Apart from him, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahni will also join the BJP.

Raghav Chadha On Why He Quit AAP

Chadha, a popular youth face who represented the party in television debates, had stirred social media speculation with his perceived silence on the arrest of several AAP leaders in corruption cases in 2024.

Last month, he was removed as AAP's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced by Ashok Malik.

Chadha today said that he had distanced himself from the party because he didn't want to take part in "their sins".

"I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities -- I did not want to be a part of their sins. I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crimes. We had just two options - either quit politics or give up our public work. We have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP," he said.

AAP currently sends 10 members to the Rajya Sabha. The two-thirds figure saves the MPs from being ousted from the Upper House of Parliament under the anti-defection law.