Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, 24 April. Besides, four more AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are expected to formally merge with the BJP.
Raghav Chadha said at a press conference on Friday that “exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP”.
Here’s how Arvind Kejriwal, Swati Maliwal, Anna Hazare, Sanjay Singh and other top leaders from different political parties, including AAP, the BJP and the Congress, reacted to Raghav Chadha’s BJP move.
1. Anna Hazare
Reacting to Raghav Chadha and other leaders joining the BJP, social activist Anna Hazare said, “In a democracy, everyone has their own opinion. It is not right to suppress anyone’s views. People have different perspectives in a democracy, and some differences of opinion are natural. There may be some disagreements or differences in thinking, which is why some people may choose to leave…”
2. Arvind Kejriwal
In a one-liner, Arvind Kejriwal said, “The BJP has once again given Punjabis a shove.”
3. Swati Maliwal
In a lengthy post on X, Swati Maliwal recalled the time when she was allegedly mistreated at Kejriwal’s home.
She wrote, “In 2006, I left my job to choose the path of national service. Through the RTI movement, the Anna movement, the formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, and 8 years of dedicated work in the Delhi Women’s Commission, I contributed with complete honesty and devotion at every stage.”
“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,” Swati Maliwal posted on X.
“At his residence, on his signal, I was brutally beaten and treated with utmost indecency. To protect his goon, he went to extreme lengths and rewarded him with high positions. Threats were made to ruin me, and every possible effort was made against me,” Swati Maliwal said.
She added, “Seeing the unchecked corruption growing in the Aam Aadmi Party under Kejriwal ji’s patronage, incidents of harassment and assault against women, the promotion of thuggish elements, and the betrayal and looting happening in Punjab, I have decided to leave the party today.”
“I was in Itanagar at this time for a parliamentary committee meeting. After returning to Delhi tonight, I will speak in detail on this matter. Jai Hind,” she said.
4. AAP MP Sanjay Singh
At a press conference, Sanjay Singh, MP of the Aam Aadmi Party, said, “Today, seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The people of Punjab should remember these seven names. They will never forgive those who have betrayed them.”
“The party made Raghav Chadha an MLA and an MP. What have the people of Punjab not given him? How much love did they show by sending him to the Rajya Sabha? And now, he has gone into the lap of the BJP,” Singh said.
“The party gave Sandeep Pathak the opportunity to reach the Rajya Sabha with the love and blessings of the people of Punjab and entrusted him with major responsibilities,” he added.
On Rajendra Gupta “merging with the BJP”, Sanjay Singh said, “…look at his journey and how far the party took him to the Rajya Sabha. Vikram Sahney, Ashok Mittal, and Swati Maliwal were all elevated by the AAP and the people of Punjab from the grassroots to the Rajya Sabha. Even Harbhajan Singh was given the opportunity to reach the Parliament with the love and blessings of the people of Punjab.”
“But these seven individuals have stabbed the people of Punjab in the back. They have betrayed them and have worked to obstruct a government in Punjab that was serving the people,” Sanjay Singh said.
5. Shiromani Akali Dal
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Majithia said Bhagwant Mann’s government need to prove majority. “…We all knew that they would join the BJP…They never raised the issues of Punjab in Parliament…Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s heart and mind are also in Delhi; he needs to prove his majority…,” he said.
6. Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring
Warring urged the AAP to remain cautious. He said, “I want to say that the Aam Aadmi Party should remain cautious. It should not happen that one day even 50 of your MLAs switch sides.”
“These MPs have moved after reaching Parliament, this was always a possibility when the party makes decisions in this manner, without clear criteria. When they were nominated to the Rajya Sabha, such an outcome was always likely,” Raja Warring said.
“When there is no strong ideology, and people are chosen based on wealth, business background, or influence, and then support is sought from them in various ways, such situations are bound to arise. I am concerned that, in a similar manner, MLAs may also leave,” the Punjab Congress chief said.
He added, “Some may act out of fear, others due to dissatisfaction with the party. The fact is, many of them were never connected to any ideology in the first place.”
7. Manish Sisodia
AAP leader and Delhi’s former education minister posted on X, “I’ve been in Gujarat for three days now… At a time when thousands of workers in Gujarat are risking their lives, enduring all dangers and BJP’s threats, and toiling blood and sweat to strengthen the party’s ideology, it is precisely then that some traitors have struck a deal with the hard-earned blood and sweat of Punjab’s workers.”
“Those Rajya Sabha members who have bowed down before the BJP today, who have betrayed the people of Punjab due to their personal compulsions, fear, and greed, should know that Punjab never forgives traitors,” he said.
