The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “kidnapping” its councillor Ram Chander, a claim that the BJP has vehemently denied. The controversy unfolded as Ram Chander returned to his residence, asserting that he had been threatened by the BJP under the guise of being framed in cases by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Chander, a councillor from Ward No. 28, had recently joined the BJP along with four other members. However, he reportedly had a change of heart after reportedly seeing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a dream, which led him to return to the AAP fold.
In a video message, Chander alleged that he was taken to the BJP headquarters by unidentified individuals. The BJP, however, has dismissed these accusations, describing them as baseless and a tactic to deflect from internal party issues.
“There they threatened me saying I would be framed by ED and CBI. My son Akash called the police helpline while our senior party leaders called the police commissioner. When they (BJP) got to know about it, they sent me back home,” Chander said in the video message.
“I want to tell BJP, I am not scared of ED and CBI. I have done nothing wrong. I am a soldier of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,” he said in the video shared by AAP.
On Sunday, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh posted a video on X featuring Ram Chander’s son, Akash, who alleged that his father had been kidnapped. In the video, Akash claims , “My father received a call from an ex-councillor of BJP saying, ‘We are standing downstairs near your house to meet you’. My father went downstairs to his office. What we have learnt is that there were four to five people, who threatened my father that he would be implicated by ED-CBI and they have taken him. We are searching for him.” Reacting to Singh’s post, senior party leader Manish Sisodia reiterated the charges levelled by Akash.
Taking to X, AAP MLA and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak accused the BJP of “making a mockery of law and order” in Delhi.
“Councillor Ram Chander ji from Aam Aadmi Party was kidnapped by BJP councillor … along with his goons and no one knows where they have taken Ramchand ji.
“We are giving this warning to the entire Bharatiya Janata Party that if Ram Chander ji is not brought back to his home in the next one to one-and-a-half hours, we will create such an uproar that the entire BJP will be shaken,” Pathak said on X.
In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused Sisodia and the AAP MCD in-charge of spreading “lies” and engaging in “sensationalism.” Kapoor stated in a post on X, “Whether councillor Ram Chander is in your party or not, we are not bothered. It is certain that he is sitting at his residence while you are spreading rumours.”
As the zonal ward committee elections for the MCD approach on September 4, both AAP and BJP have been alleging that councillors from the opposing party are poised to switch their allegiance.
