'Leader not present': Recently-demoted Raghav Chadha refuses to name Kejriwal
17 Apr 2026

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha took a jibe at his own party during a session of the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

He pointed out that both the party leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and the newly appointed deputy leader, Ashok Mittal, who replaced him, were absent from the House, without taking their names.

Chadha was recently removed as deputy leader
Leadership change

"The leader of the party I belong to is not present in the House. The newly appointed deputy leader of the party I belong to is also not present in the House. I am the recently removed deputy leader, and I am present in the House. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak," he said.

The party had initially called this a routine reshuffle but it soon turned into a public dispute.

Chadha responded to the allegations by sharing records
Counterclaims

Party leaders accused Chadha of being compromised and not following the party line, pointing to his silence on issues like the Delhi excise policy case.

Chadha responded to the allegations by sharing records of his parliamentary interventions, saying, "I will let my work do the talking."

He dismissed the allegations as "lies" and maintained that his role in Parliament is to raise public issues.

AAP accuses Chadha of doing 'soft PR'
Public fallout

Chadha had also posted a video on X, saying, "Don't mistake my silence for my defeat."

The AAP had publicly criticized Chadha for focusing on less important issues in Parliament instead of taking a stand against the BJP-led central government.

Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj accused him of doing "soft PR" by raising issues like airport food prices instead of confronting major political challenges.

Z-plus security cover removed
Security

Days after the verbal exchange between Chadha and AAP, the Punjab government withdrew his Z-plus security cover.

Soon after, he was given Z-category security by Centre.

The Z category includes 22 highly trained commandos from the National Security Guards or Central Reserve Police Force, as well as bulletproof vehicles. It provides round-the-clock safety for the protectee's home, office, and travel.