The AAP on Thursday replaced its deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Raghav Chadha, with Ashok Mittal, amid buzz over his alleged differences with the top leadership
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NEW DELHI — The AAP on Thursday replaced its deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha, Raghav Chadha, with Ashok Mittal, amid buzz over his alleged differences with the top leadership.
Chadha did not respond to the development when contacted.
Party leaders confirmed that a letter was sent to the Rajya Sabha secretariat seeking the removal of Chadha from the post of deputy leader of the party in the Upper House.
"Rajya Sabha secretariat was made aware of the party's decision," Aam Aadmi Party leader of the House in Rajya Sabha Sanjay Singh told reporters.
AAP leaders refuted the claims that Chadha was prevented from speaking in the Rajya Sabha under the quota of the party MPs.
Talking to reporters, Mittal said the Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal has entrusted him with the role of the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, and he will discharge his duties sincerely and present both the party's stance and national interests forcefully in the House.
The Rajya Sabha MP of AAP from Punjab said, "Everyone gets time to speak in our party; it is a democratic process. Raghav Chadha will also be given time to speak in the Rajya Sabha in the future."
Downplaying the change, he termed it a routine process, noting that earlier N D Gupta was the deputy leader of the party in the Upper House, and then Chadha was given the responsibility.
"Now, I have been given this role. Our party wants all MPs to learn, and probably in that context, I have been given this role so that I can learn the processes and administrative skills in politics," he said, adding that the party remains strong.
The move comes amid Chadha's prolonged silence on matters related to the AAP, and his absence from several public events led by Kejriwal.
He becomes the second Rajya Sabha MP of AAP, after Swati Maliwal, to have fallen out with the party leadership.
Once considered a close confidant of Kejriwal and among the youngest MPs in the country, Chadha played a key role in party affairs, particularly in Punjab and during the AAP's tenure in Delhi.
Chadha was abroad for medical reasons when Kejriwal, the then Delhi chief minister, was arrested in connection with the excise policy case in March 2024. He remained away during Kejriwal's nearly six-month incarceration and met him only a few days after his release on September 13, 2024.
More recently, Chadha maintained silence when Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and other AAP leaders were discharged by a Delhi court in the excise case last month. He also missed Kejriwal's press conference and a recent rally at Jantar Mantar following the court's relief.
Party leaders claimed Chadha has been increasingly sidelined from political campaigns and organisational matters of the party in other states, although he has been vocal inside and outside Parliament, raising issues such as high air fares and the condition of gig workers.
The AAP currently has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha, including seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.