Seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party, including Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, quit the party on Friday and joined the BJP.
Chadha’s dramatic exit came weeks after he was removed as the deputy leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha. The party also requested that Chadha not be allotted any speaking time from the AAP's official quota in the House.
Two-third of AAP Rajya Sabha MPs to join BJP
AAP had replaced Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as the deputy leader in the Upper House. On Friday, Mittal also joined BJP along with Chadha.
Addressing a press conference, Chadha, flanked by Pathak and Mittal, said that two-thirds of the Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MPs have quit the party and will join the BJP as a faction.
Chadha said that party MPs Harbhajan Singh and Swati Maliwal are also quitting the AAP along with, Rajendra Gupta, and Vikram Sahni.
The AAP had a total of 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha and with seven of them switching sides, they would avoid disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law.
“In the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs. More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative,” Chadha said.
"They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha," Chadha added.
AAP only working for its own benefit: Chadha
Chadha said that the party is no longer working for the country, but for its own benefit.
"Over the past few years, I have increasingly felt that I am the right person in the wrong party. Today, I announce my decision to move away from AAP and work more closely with the public," he said.
AAP moved away from founding principles: Maliwal
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who announced her decision to quit AAP, alleged that the party under its national convener Arvind Kejriwal had strayed from its founding principles and shielded individuals involved in misconduct.
In a post on social media on X, Maliwal said she had chosen the path of national and public service in 2006.
"From the RTI movement and the Anna movement to the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party and my eight years of dedicated service at the Delhi Commission for Women, I contributed with absolute honesty and devotion at every stage," Maliwal said.
"With great sorrow today, I must say that the principles, values and resolve for honest politics with which we began this journey have been abandoned by Arvind Kejriwal ji and, at his behest, the entire Aam Aadmi Party," she added.
Reacting to Chadha and other MPs quitting, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj said AAP leadership should introspect.
BJP betrayed people of Punjab: AAP
Responding to the developments, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP had once again betrayed the people of Punjab after seven Rajya Sabha MPs quit the party.
Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, "The BJP has once again betrayed Punjabis."
AAP leader Sanjay Singh also echoed Kejriwal and said that the people of Punjab will not forgive the seven who quit.
Addressing a press conference after the mass defection to the BJP, Singh accused the party of conspiring to obstruct the Bhagwant Mann government's good work in Punjab.
The people of Punjab will never forgive the MPs who deserted the Aam Aadmi Party, Singh said.
