Silenced, not defeated, says Chadha on RS demotion
The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) internal rift spilt out into the open on Friday after MP Raghav Chadha reacted to his removal on Thursday as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, drawing a sharp counterattack from senior colleagues.
In his first major reaction, Chadha shared a video message saying “Silenced, not defeated”. Hitting back, AAP leaders accused him of indulging in soft PR and used a famous dialogue from the Hindi film Sholay and said, Jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya (Whoever gets scared is considered dead).”
Asserting that he is a ‘Arvind Kejriwal ka sipahi (soldiers)’, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj accused Chadha of raising matters like prices of samosas at airports.
The Rajya Sabha MP, however, said whenever he got a chance, he raised public issues in Parliament, including topics that are often overlooked, and questioned whether speaking about people’s problems was a crime. “Did I commit any offence?” he said. Chadha said that in Parliament, he talked about the common people of the country and their issues, including expensive food at airports, problems faced by food delivery riders, food adulteration, toll plazas charges, mobile data expiry, tax on the middle class, among others.
“Is raising public issues a crime? Have I made a mistake? Have I done something wrong? Whenever I talk, I only talk about problems faced by common people. Why would someone stop me from speaking and raising issues of public interest?” he said in the video. He appealed to the general public to “stand by me the way you always have.” However, in a veiled warning, he said, “Don't mistake my silence for surrender. I’m a quiet river now, but I know how to rise into a flood.”
Hitting back, AAP leaders, including Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj and IT cell head Anurag Dhanda, defended the leadership’s decision and justified Chadha’s ‘demotion’ in the Upper House. Bharadwaj launched a pointed attack, accusing Chadha of indulging in “soft PR” rather than taking on the PM Narendra Modi-led government. Taking a swipe at one of Chadha’s parliamentary interventions, he said, "A small party gets very limited time there, and instead of talking about samosas, it is more important to raise the country’s real issues.”
Bharadwaj also questioned Chadha's role in Parliament and his absence on major political issues. “Whenever there is an issue, and the opposition walks out, you do not join the walkout. For the past several years, I have not seen you raise any issue in Parliament where you questioned the Prime Minister or the BJP government. How can politics of fear work like this?” he questioned.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda also criticised Chadha, questioning whether someone who ‘fears’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi can fight for the country. In West Bengal, the right to vote is being snatched away. When a proposal against the CEC came up in the House, you (Chadha) refused to sign it,” Dhanda said on X.
Former Delhi Chief Minister and senior party leader Atishi also questioned Chadha over his silence on key issues, asking why he was “so scared” of raising questions against the Centre and the BJP. “The democracy and Constitution of the country are in danger, yet you failed to speak on issues such as rising LPG prices,” she said.
