Aam Admi party has finally broken silence on its decision to oust its Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chaddha from Rajya Sabha. The party is accusing him of ‘soft PR’, and not taking up hard stand government’s policies.

Minutes after Raghav Chaddha put out a video claiming he is being silenced but is not defeated Saurabh Bhardwaj, prominent AAP leader, posted a rebuttal – ‘jo darr gaya, samjho marr gaya’ (the one who’s scared, is assumed to be dead).

“Raghav Bhai, I just saw your video. We are all the sepoys of Arvind Kejriwal ji, and we have learned one thing: he who is afraid is as good as dead. Our duty is to raise the issues of the people and confront the government directly.” He posted in a video.

He added, “The government doesn’t care if someone does ‘soft PR’ in Parliament, because a small party has very limited time there. Recently, all opposition parties wanted to bring a motion to impeach the CEC, but you refused to sign it.”

“Whenever there is an issue on which the opposition walks out, I have observed that you have never raised any question in the House directed at the Prime Minister or the BJP government. How can politics function in fear like this? We must raise the issues of Punjab, your own constituency, yet you hesitate even there,” he continued.

Bharadwaj went on to state, “Many of our leaders have been jailed. Arvind Kejriwal ji, as Chief Minister, was even arrested in a false case, and you were not in the country—you went into hiding.”

Earlier Raghav had posted a video claiming – “Silenced, not defeated. My message to the aam aadmi,” he wrote in the caption.

“Is it an offense to talk about problems faced by people or public issues? Did I commit some crime or make a mistake? Have I done something wrong? I am asking this because Aam Aadmi Party has told the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to stop Raghav Chadha from speaking in the Parliament,” Chadha said in a video message posted through his X handle.

The address came hours the AAP MP posted a video montage of issues he had raised as deputy leader of the party in the House. The compilation mentioned issues like tax burden on the middle class, data expiry problem, paternity leave as a right in India, and excess baggage charges at airports.

Punjab MP Ashok Mittal took over from Chadha after the party sent a letter to the Secretariat on Thursday afternoon. The move comes days after the politician was dropped as a star campaigner for the upcoming Assembly elections. Chadha was long considered a close confidante of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and played a key role in party affairs. But he has been accused of skipping important party events and maintaining prolonged silence on key matters in recent months.

AAP vs Swati Maliwal

The widening rift between Chadha and the Aam Aadmi Party has also prompted comparisons to a similar conflict with fellow Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The lawmaker had sparked outrage in the party ranks after accusing Bibhav Kumar — a close aide of Kejriwal — of physically assaulting her at the Chief Minister’s home. The party had initally acknowledged the incident and promised action but later accused Maliwal of being part of a “conspiracy” orchestrated by the BJP to frame Kejriwal.

The initial flashpoint had led to broader dissent throughout 2025 as Maliwal transitioned into a vocal critic of Kerjwal — while continuing to serve as an AAP MP in the Upper House of Parliament. She is ‘estranged’ from the party and acts as a mostly independent voice in politics. She had even attended the BJP government’s swearing-in after AAAP lost Delhi in 2025.

Both were once in Kejriwal’s “inner circle” but the situations is not identical — with Chadha merely sidelined amid ‘chilly’ ties with the party leadership.