AAP MP Raghav Chaddha speaks in Rajya Sabha. | Photo credit: ANI
A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) removed Raghav Chadha as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday (April 3, 2026) attacked the MP saying he was “compromised”.
Mr. Mann said that Mr. Chadha went against the party line because he was not willing to talk about issues like erasure of votes in West Bengal or raise his voice against the arrest of AAP volunteers in Gujarat.
“When we sit as opposition members in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, many decisions are taken collectively, like organizing a strike. But if someone violates the party line or disobeys, then it is against the whip. If you go against the party whip, then action will be taken,” he said.
On Mr Chadha’s remark about “silence”, Mr Mann said when the party takes a stand on any issue, like in Gujarat where 160 AAP volunteers and leaders have been booked, and if anyone wishes to speak, there are issues like MSP and GST.
“But if someone raises questions about samosa rates, pizza delivery instead of talking about them, you will have no doubt that the person (Mr Chadha) is talking from some other station,” he asked.
On Mr. Chadha’s removal as deputy leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Mann said it was routine. “When I first won the election (in 2014 from Sangrur Lok Sabha), Dr (Dharamvira) Gandhi (then AAP MP now in Congress) was appointed as the head of the party’s parliamentary committee. Later I also served in that capacity. So the party still takes such decisions,” Mr Mann said.
The AAP accused Mr Chadha of avoiding raising issues against the Center in Parliament and instead engaging in “soft PR”. AAP’s national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda questioned whether someone who is “afraid” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi can fight for the country.
Published – 03 Apr 2026 17:35 IST
