Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 17: Raghav Chadha on Friday took a pointed dig at his party leadership in the Rajya Sabha, highlighting the absence of key leaders while noting his own presence in the House.

Speaking during proceedings, Chadha remarked that neither the party’s leader nor its newly appointed deputy leader was present. “The leader of the party I belong to is not present in the House. The newly appointed deputy leader is also not present. I am the recently removed deputy leader, and I am present in the House,” he said.

Chadha was recently removed as the Aam Aadmi Party’s deputy leader in the Upper House, a move that triggered speculation about internal differences. Sanjay Singh continues as the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, while Punjab MP Ashok Kumar Mittal replaced Chadha as deputy leader on April 2.

Though the party initially termed the change a routine organisational reshuffle, it soon escalated into a public spat. Party leaders accused Chadha of not adhering to the party line, alleging silence on issues such as the Delhi excise policy case and reluctance to participate in protests. They also claimed he avoided criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre, engaging instead in what they described as “soft PR”.

Responding to the allegations, the 37-year-old MP shared records of his parliamentary interventions, asserting that his work speaks for itself. He dismissed the claims as baseless and maintained that his role in Parliament is to raise public issues rather than create disruptions.

Amid the ongoing row, the Punjab government recently withdrew Chadha’s Z-plus category security cover, following which the Centre provided him with Z-category security.