‘Silenced, not defeated’: Chadha slams AAP, party accuses him of ‘soft PR’

AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Friday said he has been "silenced, not defeated", a day after being removed as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. He also alleged that his own party had sought to prevent him from speaking in Parliament.

In a video posted on X, Chadha said, "Whenever I get a chance, I raise issues concerning the people in Parliament, including topics that are often overlooked. But is it an offence to talk about people's problems? Did I commit any crime?" Chadha also hit out at his party, alleging that it had informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop him from speaking in Parliament.

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"The AAP has informed Parliament that I should not be given a chance to speak. I would like to tell them -- do not take my silence for defeat," Chadha said.

"I raised several issues that benefited aam aadmi (common man). What harm did that cause the Aam Aadmi Party? Why does anyone want to stop me from speaking?" he added.

AAP slams Chadha's stance

The AAP responded to Raghav Chadha’s “silenced” video shared on Friday morning, stating that the government doesn’t care about “soft PR.” Saurabh Bharadwaj, president of the AAP’s Delhi unit, said, “A small party has limited time. It is more important to focus on the larger issues facing the country rather than trivial matters like samosas.”

He also alleged that genuine voters are being removed and fake voters registered ahead of elections across various states. “The government is resorting to fully corrupt methods to secure victories. The Opposition even moved a motion to impeach the CEC, but you refused to sign it,” Bharadwaj added.

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Meanwhile, AAP national media chief Anurag Dhanda took a direct swipe at Chadha, suggesting he has grown increasingly hesitant to speak against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Over the past few years, you’ve become afraid, Raghav. You hesitate to speak against Modi and shy away from raising the real issues affecting the country,” Dhanda said, highlighting growing unease within the party.

Ousted as deputy leader

The AAP on Thursday wrote to the Rajya Sabha secretariat seeking the removal of Chadha as the party's deputy leader in the House, and proposed Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

According to sources, the letter stated that Chadha -- a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab -- should not be allotted time for speaking in the House from the AAP's quota.

Once considered a close confidant of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and among the youngest MPs in the country, Chadha had played a key role in party affairs, particularly in Punjab and during the AAP's tenure in Delhi.