New Delhi: Raghav Chadha on Monday released a video on his social media handle, Instagram defending his decision to quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He said that ever since he left the AAP on Friday and announced his decision to join the BJP he had been receiving best wishes messages from people on social media. He however said that many people have asked him the reason for his political move and he would answer their queries now.

‘Dedicated 15 years of youth to AAP, party changed overtime’: Raghav Chadha

Addressing the people, Chadha said, “I did not join politics to make a career. In fact I left my bright future as a Chartered Accountant (CA) to join politics. I became a founding member of a political party. I gave 15 years of my youth to this party and nurtured it with my blood, sweat and a lot of hard work.”

 

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A post shared by Raghav Chadha (@raghavchadha88)

Talking about AAP, his former party, Chadha said that it was no longer the party it was and had changed over time. He alleged that as of today, AAP had a toxic work environment and alleged that he was stopped from speaking and working for the welfare of people.

He explained his decision to join the BJP saying that he was increasingly feeling that “he was the right man in the wrong party.” He said that when he felt stifled within AAP, he had 3 options. The first was exiting politics entirely, the second one was trying to bring about internal reforms or the third was exiting the political party and joining some other dispensation. He ultimately chose the third option, explained Chadha.

He defended his decision by highlighting the fact that not 1, not 2, not 3, but 6 MPs of the AAP quit along with him. He said that 1 or 2 people might be wrong, but can 7 people take a wrong decision?

He rejected the idea that he left AAP out of fear. He said, “We did not leave out of fear, but because of disappointment, disenchantment and disgust.”

Will continue to raise people’s issues: Chadha

Having explained his reasons to leave, AAP, Chadha moved to talk about the issue of him raising people’s issues in Parliament. He said that he would continue to raise the issues of the common people in Parliament and public outreach programmes. He said, “I will continue to raise your problems with more energy and enthusiasm.”

Chadha, along with 7 Rajya Sabha MPs of AAP announced his exit from the party on Friday. They announced that they were merging into the BJP. The merger came months after public disagreements between AAP and Chadha, which led to the removal of the Punjab MP as the Deputy Leader in the Upper House. At the time, Chadha had alleged that his own party was trying to stifle his voice in Parliament. He had warned in another video that every allegation would be answered. On Friday, he did exactly that. He broke away from his party, with 6 other MPs.

Following his exit from AAP, Chadha lost considerable following on social media. He lost 1 million followers within days and faced severe backlash from his supporters. They accused him of backstabbing Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP chief.