'Kejriwal uses people, then gets rid of them': BJP jumps to Raghav Chadha's 'aid' after latter's fallout with AAP

'Arvind Kejriwal is a frightened, weak man; he dislikes the opposition and is intimidated by the competence of others,' BJP's Virender Sachdeva said.

New Delhi: The BJP has come out in support of rebel AAP leader Raghav Chadha after the party dropped him as the Rajya Sabha deputy leader on Thursday. Delhi BJP president Virender Sachdeva said that Raghav should have spoken up a long ago, and Delhi BJP MP Ramvir Bidhuri said that this shows how the AAP undermines inner party democracy.

Reacting to Chadha’s post on X, Sachdeva said Kejriwal has a habit of “using” people. “Raghav Chadha should have broken his silence long ago; Arvind Kejriwal has a talent, first he uses people and then gets rid of them”, Sachdeva said.

“Raghav Chadha’s removal from the post of Deputy Leader of the Rajya Sabha is a decision taken by his party and all parties are free to make such decisions. The objection, however, lies in the act of writing to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat requesting that Raghav Chadha be denied permission to speak. Arvind Kejriwal is a frightened, weak man; he dislikes the opposition and is intimidated by the competence of others,” he added.

BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, echoing Sachdeva’s comments, said that Chadha should be lauded for raising the people’s issues, and criticised Kejriwal for silencing him. “When I was the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Raghav Chadha was an MLA and I remember him as a good orator; it was a pleasure to listen to him. Later, he moved to the Rajya Sabha, where he has continued to raise public issues. It is beyond my understanding why Arvind Kejriwal has imposed restrictions on Raghav Chadha from speaking,” he said.

“If a senior member and a parliamentarian is being stopped from speaking, I believe this amounts to a complete undermining of democracy. Arvind Kejriwal and his party leadership should reconsider this decision,” he added.

This is not the first time that the BJP has lent its support to a rebel AAP leader; in the past when AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal had accused Kejriwal's PA Bibhav of assaulting her, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had supported Maliwal and questioned Kejriwal for his silence.