AAP MP Raghav Chadha addresses Rajya Sabha suspension

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha shared his thoughts on his recent suspension from the Rajya Sabha on Friday for ‘gross violation of rules’, saying that he was suspended because the Centre does not want opposition leaders to question or criticise the government.

In a video clip shared by the AAP MP, he launched into a full-scale attack on the ruling government, saying, “I am Raghav Chadha, the suspended Member of Parliament. I was suspended from the House of Representatives today; what did I do wrong?

“I questioned whether it was wrong of me to convey my opinions about the Delhi Service Bill. By displaying the previous manifesto, I had the BJP look in the mirror and urged them to keep the commitments they had made. Is it my fault that I recommended the current administration to be Advani-vadi and Vajpayee-vadi? They are puzzled by the young man’s age – 34 – when he queries us.

“They [BJP] have incredibly strong personalities and are unstoppable. Within a week, I received nearly two notices from the committee of privileges. They don’t allow the opposition to speak in the house. They switch off the mic of the Leader of Opposition [Mallikarjun Kharge]. They have suspended three MPs of AAP during this Parliament monsoon session, Sanjay Singh, Sushil Kumar Rinku, and me.

“This is for the first time that they have also suspended a leader of one of the biggest parties of the opposition, which is Congress. this means that they don’t want opposition leaders to ask questions, they keep on suspending the MPs.”

BJP have taken Rahul Gandhi membership, they can do same with AAP: Raghav Chadha

Raghav Chadha further commented on the manner in which the membership of Rahul Gandhi was suspended after his conviction in a criminal defamation case filed by a BJP leader and said that the same thing can happen to the members of any opposition party.

He continued, “I come from the state of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. I will keep my views in front of the privilege committee, and ask them to take action. Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, [and] Dr Manmohan Singh were among the people who faced the action by the privilege committee. The way they have taken the membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, they can do the same with any leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.

“This is for the first time that the charges that are framed against me are not even there in the rule book. Forged signature has been done on some papers and submitted. I know that I can suggest the name of MPs for the committee, and it does not require any consent or signature on them. You just have to propose the name, if someone is not willing to be on the committee, they can withdraw their names.”

“With this topic, they want to destroy my reputation. I am not afraid of all these tactics,” Chadha said, concluding with the poem, “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab humare dil mein hai, dekhna hai zor kitna bazuae katil mein hai. (The desire for revolution is in our hearts, Let’s see how much strength the enemy has.)”